(AGENPARL) – mar 28 gennaio 2025 Issued: Jan 28, 2025 (2:45pm EST)
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Trump EPA Updates Public on Agency Assistance Following Catastrophic Wildfires
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been assisting the
local government and residents in the wake of catastrophic fires in Los
Angeles County. EPA has been assigned by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency with the first stage of the overall recovery and cleanup: the project
to remove lithium-ion batteries and to survey, remove, and dispose of
hazardous materials from properties burned by wildfires. Californians looking
for guidance on their return home are encouraged to follow the direction of
local authorities.
On January 24, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order Emergency Measures
to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in
Certain Areas. This directs EPA to complete its hazardous materials mission
responding to the Los Angeles, California Wildfires as soon as practical.
EPA’s work removing hazardous materials is Phase 1 of the federal cleanup
response. According to the EPA incident commander, there will be upward of
1,000 people working on Phase 1 cleanup by this weekend. This work, conducted
at no cost to residents, is a mandatory process to ensure the safety of
residents and the workers who will — after the hazardous material is gone
— conduct the Phase 2 debris removal in the burn footprints, and to prevent
these materials from being released into the environment. Phase 2 is debris
removal and will be coordinated by FEMA. Once Phase 1 has been completed at a
property, Phase 2 will begin automatically.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, EPA is doing everything within our
power to expedite cleanup of hazardous debris and to help provide Californians
safer access to their property as soon as possible,” said EPA Acting Deputy
Administrator Chad McIntosh. “With President Trump’s Executive Order, he
has authorized a whole of government response to the catastrophic wildfires in
Los Angeles — an effort that has never been seen before. EPA is working with
local, state and federal partners in addition to the private sector to aid in
California’s recovery.”
EPA will remove potentially dangerous everyday products including household
products like paints, cleaning supplies, and automotive oils, garden products
such as herbicides and pesticides, batteries, including both standard and
rechargeable types, and propane tanks and other pressurized gas containers.
They will remove visible asbestos and inspect pressurized fuel cylinders (like
propane tanks). After a fire, these products require special handling,
especially if their containers are damaged. EPA field teams will also remove
items thought to have asbestos if they are easy to identify, but the property
will not be fully cleared until Phase 2 (debris removal).
EPA will also remove lithium-ion batteries from vehicles, homes, and other
products. Many homes have damaged or destroyed lithium-ion batteries,
lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, and electric and hybrid vehicles.
The batteries should be considered extremely dangerous, even if they look
intact. Lithium-ion batteries can spontaneously re-ignite, explode, and emit
toxic gases and particulates even after the fire is out. Residents can call
our hotline at 1-833-798-7372 if they encounter a lithium-ion battery while
re-entering their property and/or are unsure if a lithium-ion battery was
damaged.
Residents are encouraged to exercise extreme caution when returning to their
properties.
At the direction of President Trump, EPA is partnering with the U.S. Military
and Department of Homeland Security to develop and execute a plan to expedite
the removal of contaminated and general debris.
If residents are on their property when EPA arrives for the hazardous
materials removal, the crew will not be able to conduct work at that property
and will return at a later time. EPA will remove only hazardous materials, by
hand, and will not remove any non-hazardous materials. If crews find objects
of value, EPA will contact local law enforcement to track and remove the
objects for safekeeping.
EPA has secured temporary storage, or staging, locations for materials from
each fire site. Removed hazardous waste materials are brought into these
staging areas daily, processed into appropriate waste streams, and packaged
for shipment and proper disposal.
This guidance has been previously shared with impacted communities.
Click here to read guidance on Phase 1: Hazardous Material Removal.
Click here to read guidance on Lithium-ion Batteries.
The public can find more information about EPA’s hazardous material removal
operations at EPA’s 2025 California Wildfires website. This website will be
continuously updated as EPA’s work moves forward.??
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