Hundreds Of Volunteers Help Homeowners With Exide Cleanup

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Hundreds of volunteers were out on Saturday helping homeowners to get their soil tested, as a result of the Exide Battery-Facility contamination.

"I'd rather have it get tested, with what's going on," Jamie Gallegos, a Boyle Heights homeowner said.

Gallegos has lived in the area of Boyle Heights, often considered the ground-zero for the Exide contamination, for his entire life.

The city, county, and state are now teaming up to tackle the testing, cleanup, and landscaping after the testing is completed.

So far, 776 yards have been tested for lead, and 200 have already been cleaned up.

The mayor says around 10,000 homes in the area will require testing.

The goal on Saturday was for the volunteers to visit at least 1,000 of those homes.

"If we can help our community the best way we can, then we're going to do it," Kyerstin Galloway said.

The volunteers are trying to convince people living in the area that there is nothing sinister going on, and that they simply need approval of the homeowners before the government can begin testing.

The Governor has already pledged $177 million to cover the cost of testing and cleanup.

The $177 million proposal is awaiting approval from lawmakers in Sacramento.