The County of Santa Cruz released data about metal in soil and water following the Moss Landing Fire
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The County of Santa Cruz announced Friday that third party analytical services monitored metal levels in the soil, water, air and agriculture from the Moss Landing Vistra Energy fire that broke out on January 16.
The county says that the Agricultural Commissioner in collaboration with Santa Cruz County Environmental Health received data that tested soil, plant material, surface water and sediment in south county.
The study was conducted by Monterey Bay Analytical Services to monitor the amount of boron, manganese, cobalt and nickel in the soil.
"Results indicate that metal levels detected in Santa Cruz County are significantly lower than samples collected in Monterey County closer to the Moss Landing site and do not suggest elevated public health risks or food safety concerns," according to the county.
The county sent this spreadsheet out with data and percentage of detected levels on Friday:
The county went on to say that many metals that were tested, specifically cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium, are present in the soil naturally and may not be linked to the fire. They said that presence of these metals "should not be presumed to represent a public health concern."
They cited manganese as an example of a metal that is added to fertilizer to support healthy plants, with "other metals considered essential micronutrients when present at safe levels."
Graham Hunting from the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner's Office, took soil samples at the surface and subsurface levels, the County of Monterey saying that six of the eight soil locations sampled "were below acceptable screening levels for residential soil."
One of the other two locations had cobalt concentrations that exceeded the residential soil screening level, while the other had PAH concentrations that exceeded the residential soil screening levels. Scientists suggest that further sampling is done at these locations.
Additionally, the county says that "several metals (barium, chromium, cobalt, nickel, vanadium, and zinc) were detected in the surface water samples" but that "levels of barium and nickel did not exceed acceptable screening levels for human recreational water activities."
In addition to the soil and water, plant material was tested and found with elevated cobalt and nickel levels, according to the county, but then a follow-up test was conducted, showing a "significant decline" in those levels that was possibly due to a plant water uptake in the field.
While the soil was tested specifically for boron, manganese, cobalt and nickel, the local south county water supply tested for these--manganese, cobalt and nickel--as well as lithium. It did not include results for measurements of boron.
"Testing of South County lakes, for example, showed cobalt levels were several orders of magnitude lower than samples collected in the vicinity of Elkhorn Slough," wrote the county on Friday. "Surface water and sediment samples were collected from multiple locations, including Drew Lake, Kelly Lake, Pinto Lake and Watsonville Slough, with additional samples collected at Antonelli Pond, Loch Lomond Reservoir and Forest Lake as spatial controls due to the lack of background data."
The company that tested water in south county, McCampbell Analytical, Inc., said that the metals that were detected in local water sources fell below U.S. Environmental Protections Agency screening thresholds, with the exception of elevated manganese levels at Drew Lake, Watsonville Slough and Antonelli Pond.
"However, levels were not consistent with deposits from a battery fire and are likely due to natural or other anthropogenic sources," added the county.
The county says that with "absent background data, it is difficult to attribute the presence of metals to the Moss Landing fire."
They did say that they are continuing to work with the County of Monterey as well as state agencies to monitor metal levels in the soil, plant life and water locally.
Contact information for the two independent research agencies are:
Monterey Bay Analytical Services
4 Justin Court Suite D
Monterey, CA 93940
831.375.6227
McCampbell Analytical, Inc.
1534 Willow Pass Road
Pittsburg, CA 94565
877.252.9262
