Is FEMA Testing for Optics, Not Safety?

The LA Times reported this week that the EPA plans to have FEMA fund lead soil testing at 100 randomly selected Eaton Fire destroyed home sites, reversing FEMA’s prior refusal, while advocates and scientists warn the limited, composite-sampling design may be more about validating the earlier cleanup than determining whether properties are truly safe to rebuild on. The article includes a quote from EFRU: “The EPA’s plan to run a study that retroactively validates a limited soil-removal response after the L.A. Fires is deeply concerning… The hard truth is that meaningful contamination recovery still has not been funded or delivered by the federal government or the State of California.“