AQMD hears public testimony on Lineage Storage odors as residents raise ongoing health concerns
Residents demand accountability amid Lineage fallout
Boyle Heights residents demand accountability as complaints continue to pile up in the thousands over the ripple effects led by the Lineage warehouse fire.
LOS ANGELES - The hearing is to listen to testimony from the public as board members consider an abatement order against Lineage Storage. AQMD officials confirm they have received over 4,000 complaints alleging rotting meat and food odors associated with the cleanup and have issued over 20 notices of violations to Lineage as a public nuisance. This order would add more conditions to help alleviate the issues that residents are experiencing, like adding odor-misting systems around the buildings and openings.
Lineage officials and attorneys are here, saying nothing for now. Neither they nor the board members are expected to comment until the end of the meeting, which has been extended into tomorrow because they have so many people signing up to speak here and via Zoom links.
But residents and activists fear that even with additional orders, the problems will persist, even as the company says the rotten food will all be removed by next week. They bring up the contamination of the soil, the rodents and biting flies. Even more worrisome, they say, are the persistent health issues so many of them are reporting, from nosebleeds to headaches and beyond.
LA County health officials have been dealing with those types of issues, saying the health violation citations against the company have gone from $500 to $2,000. County officials have also put the company's permits to rebuild at the site on hold, which residents strongly oppose.
AQMD issued the following statement in the wake of the Lineage fire and the ongoing cleanup:
"South Coast AQMD uses advanced, scientifically sound air measurements using robust methods.
South Coast AQMD can’t comment on the air sensors being used to take ammonia measurements or the methodologies used by various other stakeholders.
We have maintained an active, comprehensive, and multi-layered air monitoring presence in the community since the onset of the incident on June 17. Because building fires are dynamic and produce complex combustion products, our strategy combines immediate screening, continuous neighborhood monitoring, independent validation testing, and multi-agency regulatory oversight. This is in addition to the air monitoring being conducted by the third-party contractor which includes indoor, perimeter and community air monitoring.
South Coast AQMD has been conducting unannounced roaming monitoring for ammonia during the cleanup process and has placed a stationary monitor at Eastman Elementary School that is providing continuous ammonia data since the end of July. All that data can be found on our webpage (www.aqmd.gov/palos).
We have seen some levels of ammonia that were elevated above Los Angeles background levels (up to 36 ppb) at both the Eastman Elementary monitor and from our roaming ammonia measurements. However, the State’s short-term health-based standard for ammonia is 4500 ppb. So, while, some results have shown levels to be elevated above Los Angeles background levels, they do not exceed the State’s short term health standards.
We understand that the situation is dynamic and conditions are changing, particularly with the heat and the decomposing materials that have potential to offgas. We continue to monitor the situation closely.
We understand that there are some reports that background levels for ammonia range from 1-5 ppb. However, those levels are described by the CDC as an average for the entire United States. In Los Angeles specifically, typical background levels of ammonia range up to 36 ppb. South Coast AQMD has studied air toxics in the Los Angeles area as part of its ongoing 2026 Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study.
We continue to conduct our air monitoring at the school as well as our unannounced measurements in the community during the cleanup activities. Data we collect is being reviewed by both the Los Angeles Department of Public Health as well as the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment."
The hearing will continue tomorrow morning at AQMD headquarters in Diamond Bar.