Last year, one of the largest gas leaks in history rolled through the luxuriously-developed hills of Southern California unseen and out of control. Natural gas, being stored in a facility said to be safe, started erupting from a well on Oct. 23 of last year. Natural gas’ main component is methane, which is lighter than air and spreads quickly, accompanied by other noxious gases like benzene. These gases are undetectable to the human eye, they float invisibly through the air, but those caught in the toxic cloud are quick to feel the effects.
While I studied in LA last spring, I did an independent project on the Southern California Gas Company's (SoCalGas) disastrous leak in Porter Ranch as it was unfolding. Visiting town hearings and interviewing those affected, I will tell you their misery myself. This invisible disaster was larger than the Deepwater Horizon gas leak, much closer to home, and largely ignored by mainstream media.
Just a few hours north of Los Angeles, the rolling hills of Porter Ranch are home to families, universities, pre-schools and high schools. Of course, the regulators and politicians of the area wouldn't lease their underground storage of such dangerous gases to just anyone. It was SoCalGas, self-claimed as “the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility, providing safe and reliable energy” in their proposal to build this site that erupted.
Though the storage site was supposed to be safe, we should all appreciate that foolproof systems don't exist. For months on end, just one of the 113 wells at the facility was releasing approximately 50,000 kilograms of methane per hour, a larger emission rate than all of the refineries in California would give off, combined! You can witness the leak through infrared footage here. From the day the leak was found to when the leak was sealed, the well had released more than 100,000 tons of methane into the atmosphere. The company offered no help and no information. Instead, SoCalGas spent these disastrous months attempting to eschew the responsibilities of relocating residents, testing for safety, and paying medical costs.
SoCalGas is a company similar to Duke Energy, trying to maintain old fossil fuel infrastructure, defend its use, and squeeze the most money out by presenting natural gas as a safe, environmentally friendly option. In reality, natural gas is comparable to coal. The leak in Porter Ranch spanned four months. It caused the displacement from 7,000 homes, the residents of which continue to suffer from health defects. Not until a month and a half after the company knew about the leak did they shut down and relocate the 1,870 students going to school in the affected area. SoCalGas evaded responsibly, even when the stakes were high. Only on court ordered mandates did SoCalGas pay for the hotel rooms of displaced residents. They got away with testing a handful of houses for safety, and failed to test even one person's health. Actually, the faulting company stooped so low as to send undercover "lawyers" to affected homes, in an effort to collect information that would disavow the company from paying for damages. Fossil fuel companies have already began to release the most disappointing quarterly profits they've seen in 25 years thanks to a surplus in the market. They're already losing, and they're not trying to be kicked while they're down.
SoCalGas didn't want to compromise their industrial dignity by admitting they couldn't seal the leak. They were supposed to be the leaders, safe and reliable, right? Well, not if you thought reliable meant sticking up for the customer. I was fortunate enough to meet some incredible people who had been relocated to LA while their homes sat in toxic ruin. Before I met the first woman and her daughter at a friends open-mic night, I didn’t know of the leak myself, but living just south of it. The woman's daughter was there to sing. She told me her lungs had been impaired since the leak, and her mother vented to me for at least an hour about their rising healthcare costs. It seemed like she was dying to tell her story to anyone who listened.
The second person I met in a hotel, by chance, when I overheard his conversation. Again, these victims were overzealous about telling others what was happening, so outrageous they craved sympathy and change. We'll call him Val, a student at a university far north of LA. Every day, two hours were added to his commute to school, and he was running behind. Often, he was tempted to go back to his house, still in the toxic cloud, to retrieve clothes or see his dog. But whenever Val returned, he couldn't help but leave in a hurry before a heavy headache or a nosebleed came on.
I don't want to get too graphic with you, but you should know what a natural gas leak can do to your body. Val not only experienced nosebleeds and debilitating headaches, but he also suffered from intense sickness and rectal bleeding. He told me that often, he was disillusioned by it too. When trying to formulate thoughts, answering a question as simple as what he should eat, he couldn't construct an answer. His simplest mind functions had gone numb. Weeks after leaving the toxic airspace, he would continue to wake up with his sheets covered in blood. His body was screaming for help, but SoCalGas tuned it out.
The poor dog Val left at his house wasn’t permitted in the hotel, as was the same story with many pets in the area. A year later, many of these pets died. If the people had stayed, they likely would have, too. Children and adults from the area have developed a deadly cancer directly related to Benzene exposure, a chemical used in the production of fuels like natural gas.
Residents effected formed a group and worked with air quality management and attorney generals to file lawsuits as well as criminal charges against SoCalGas. They held protests arguing for a switch to renewable energy and a shutdown of Aliso Canyon.
Now, I may have to remind you, these picketers were not environmental activists. They did not have a prior agenda or vendetta against fossil fuel use. To the contrary, these residents were customers of SoCalGas. Not until residents were physically and mentally tortured by the toxic, invisible evil that forced them away from their homes did people start advocating for renewables. This is a central problem in addressing climate change issues—most are remote, unseen by the average consumer. However, many storage sights are much closer than we realize. Methane leaks are an expected and known consequence of natural gas storage, yet continue to be build without notifying neighbors. Duke is proposing to put a natural gas facility right on West Campus, a lot closer to students than the affected Porter Ranch residents lived to the SoCalGas leak.
SoCalGas began re-operating its plant again within days after the first leak was sealed. Just two days later, another leak occurred in another one of the wells. Now, in 2017, SoCalGas is still operating in the same location. Despite the damage, little has changed.
SoCalGas claims to be the leading provider of safe and efficient natural gas in the country. Meanwhile, Val and his friends health will never be the same due to the malpractice of a gas corporation. Val and I talked about his fears for the future, the effects he hasn't yet seen, and the problems that could be transferred to his children. Now, Val can return to his home, which remains officially untested for safety but pronounced safe by SoCalGas, but it will never feel the same.
So, would you trust a gas company to protect you? Do you want Duke to be a place you’re scared to go back to?
Eliza Grace is a Trinity junior. Her column, "the green wave" runs on alternate Thursdays.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.