A meeting intended to be informational turned confrontational Monday night as nearly 200 residents stormed a library conference room to demand answers – and action – from Southern California Edison regarding the alleged ill-health effects surrounding its electrical substation and power lines on Knob Hill Avenue.
The meeting, organized by City Councilman Steve Aspel, brought together representatives from Edison, the Southern California Gas Company, city officials, and the neighborhood residents to outline what has been discovered and what the future may hold for the 800 and 900 blocks of Knob Hill, where a “stray voltage” problem emanating from the SCE power substation allegedly damaged at least one woman’s health and a stronger-than-average Electro-Magnetic-Field (EMF) has sparked concerns throughout the neighborhood.
An SCE spokesperson at one point was confronted point-blank by a man standing in the audience.
“Everything they promised us is gone,” the man shouted. “There are people getting sick, and people dying.”
The issue has gone beyond concern for at least two families who have been forced to leave their homes and a third family whose children have become ill but have been unable to afford leaving the neighborhood.
Simona Wilson, a single mother with three children under the age of six, suffered internal injuries when her showerhead became electrified by stray voltage last year and has since moved out of the neighborhood and filed a lawsuit against Edison.
Mary Contreras has a daughter suffering stomach and throat problems and a son who developed a tumor. But she and her family have been unable to move away from the neighboring substation they believe has caused their ills.
Tom and Lori Barber have a 16-month-old daughter who suffered headaches and who had lost her appetite until the family moved out of the neighborhood four months ago. Like Wilson, the Barbers are left with a mortgage to a house they are unable to live in.
Tom Barber confronted Edison regional manager Scott Gobbles at the meeting. He said that Gobbles suggested moving his child’s bedroom.
“He said we should relocate our kid’s room because it had high EMF,” Barber said. “So we took his advice and moved out. Is that acceptable, sir? Is that acceptable?”
Gobbles tried to reassure residents that Edison was taking steps to address concerns.
“It’s been an ongoing process over the decades,” Gobbles said. “That substation has been there since 1963…We build according to the standards at the time, and standards are evolving and changing.”
Jack Sahl, a scientist with Edison and a director of its environmental operations, noted that EMF exposure has not yet been directly linked to ill-health, although widespread concerns over childhood cancer have emerged in recent decades.
“The arbitrators of risk in our society are a weird mix of experts, the legal system, and elected officials,” Sahl said. “They are the ones who set the standards. I have been a part of this process since 1982…So you are jumping to the conclusion that there is risk, but there is no international panel of experts that says there is a risk for this stuff. What they have said is we need to look for childhood leukemia and we need to pay attention to this and do more research.”
Ben Brinkman, an engineer with the state’s Public Utilities Commission who is investigating the matter, said that nothing discovered regarding EMF levels thus far indicates a legal breach by Edison.
“I wish I could tell you I could do something,” he said. “I wish I could…I just enforce the law. You have to change the law.”
Jack Barber, the grandfather the Barber’s ill 16-month-old girl, implored Edison to spend less money on lobbyists protecting its legal rights to keep high EMF levels and more money “doing the right thing.”
“Every civilized country in the world buries the [electrical] lines except the U.S.,” Barber said. “[Edison] is about greed – they aren’t about green energy.”
Redondo Beach City Attorney Mike Webb said the city may explore two options on behalf of its residents: petitioning the PUC for a change in standards, or possibly filing a public health nuisance lawsuit. But the prudent course of action, Webb cautioned, has yet to be determined by the City Council.
“We want to do what is successful,” Webb said. “We don’t want to do something just to do it…If it’s the right thing to do and we can be successful, then we will certainly look into doing that.”
Tensions were heightened by the presence of more than three dozen Chino Hills residents who had bussed up to badger Edison officials. The group is in a conflict with SCE over EMF in their neighborhood and has garnered a congressional hearing to investigate its concerns.
The meeting devolved into a shouting match at one point when Bob Goodwin, a leader for the group Hope for the Hills, pointed his finger at Webb hurled accusations at Sahl.
“You should accept the fact that as a human being you are failing to stand up to protect society,” Goodwin shouted.
Even as tensions eased later in the meeting, Tom Barber took issue with an official who tried to make light of the situation.
“I have a very sick daughter, and I don’t have a house,” he said. “This is very far from fun and games. Really far.”
Aspel vowed to pursue the matter to the furthest extent possible for the city. But he also expressed disappointment at the outcome of what was intended to be an informational meeting.
“This meeting was hijacked by Chino Hills, and I am very upset about it,” he said. “I couldn’t find Chino Hills on a map. I represent Redondo Beach.”
“This is the worst-case scenario,” Barber said. “This is the last thing I ever wanted to be involved with…the last thing.” ER
