Residents, Students Of Elementary School Near Dump Fall Ill
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA.com) — An Orange County community voiced health concerns Monday night over a trash dump located near an elementary school.
The dump, operated by Rainbow Environmental Services in Huntington Beach, sits near Oakview Elementary School.
A number of local students and residents have spoken out, saying that they are becoming ill.
"Every day, I start feeling dizzy when the smell comes," student Tyler Robert Kreymer said.
Gina Clayton Tarvin, president of the Ocean View Board of Trustees, says the blame falls on Rainbow Environmental.
"This pile of concrete was carcinogenic and it was blowing across the street on our students for years," Tarvin said. "Until we came out with the lawsuits, this pile was not taken away."
The Ocean View Board of Trustees, currently in legal battles with the transfer station that is located across the street from Oak View Elementary and Preschool, was not surprised when Rainbow Environmental announced plans to build a new covered transfer station.
"They come in and say 'we are now going to now build a new building ninety thousand square feet'," board attorney Ed Conner said. "How nice. They only do something if they are forced to."
Residents on Monday asked the City Council to require all of the transfer stations in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood be completely covered.
"They talked about covering one part of the dump," Tarvin said. "They have four areas that they need to cover."