Environment

UCLA researchers find elevated metals in LA River fire runoff

Samples taken after the Boyle Heights warehouse fire showed chromium, lead, zinc and iron above prior river measurements, raising concerns for aquatic life and possible downstream exposure.

Image credit: Flickr user kla4067 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; archival 2009 Los Angeles River photograph, not current runoff conditions

UCLA researchers found elevated metals in runoff tied to the June 17 Lineage Logistics warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, NBC Los Angeles reported September 25. The team sampled water near the warehouse and in the Los Angeles River upstream and downstream while firefighters were using as much as 12,000 gallons of water per minute at the fire’s peak.

What it means locally

For samples collected June 19 through 24, chromium and lead levels were 2.4 times higher than any recorded Los Angeles River measurement from 2018 through 2024, while zinc was 11 times higher and iron 23 times higher, according to the report. Researchers said their main concern at those levels was aquatic life, though people who contacted river water downstream—or ocean water near the river’s Long Beach outlet—might also have been exposed. The study did not test whether metals entered Boyle Heights soil or groundwater.

Full report and further details: Read original report →