Los Angeles County Health Officer Muntu Davis issued an updated order on dust control for property owners in the Palisades and Eaton burn who are not eligible for the government-run debris removal program, the Department of Public Health announced Monday.
The order provides guidelines on dust reduction for residents who are using private contractors to remove, transport and dispose of fire debris that resulted from the deadly January wildfires that scorched over 27,000 acres and destroyed or damaged more than 18,000 structures.
Property owners or their contractors must adhere to the following dust control measures, which “are essential to protect the health and wellbeing of those involved in fire debris removal and residents in surrounding areas,” according to a health department statement.
General dust control measures
- Water and/or an approved dust palliative must be used at each fire-affected property to prevent dust nuisances.
- Before removal work, all areas covered in ash and debris are required to be “pre-watered using a fine spray nozzle to prevent splashing,” officials said.
Transporting fire debris
- All fire debris must be moved to an approved landfill in a way that prevents dust from escaping.
- Debris loads, including concrete and metal, must be watered and covered with a tarp.
- Ash and loose fire debris must be fully encapsulated with 10-mil plastic sheeting before loading and transport. A “mil” equates to a one-thousand of an inch and measures thickness. Plastic sheeting ranges from 1 to 100 mils.
End-of-day protocol
- Any fire debris that remains at the end of each workday “must be consolidated, sufficiently wetted and/or covered” to stop contaminated dust from migrating off-site.
Watering dry soil areas
- To reduce dust emissions, all visibly dry, disturbed areas of surface soil must be watered during debris removal work.
‘Trackout’ prevention and cleanup
- “Property owners or contractors must prevent dirt, dust, or debris from being tracked out onto public or private roads,” health officials said. If “trackout” happens, crews must clean up the area immediately, especially at entrances and exits to the worksite.
- All visible trackout must be removed from the site by the end of every workday.
- Cleanup techniques that comply with the health order include “adequate wetting before or during the cleanup by either misting and manually sweeping or using a rotary brush or broom,” officials said. “The use of blower devices or dry rotary brushes/brooms to remove trackout is strictly prohibited.”
It was unclear what penalties may apply for violations of the health officer’s order. Public Health Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additional guidance and information about dust-mitigation requirements is online at publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Wildfire.
