Deirdre Bolona, from Aliso Moms Alliance, is seen during a September 2021 rally in Porter Ranch, calling for the closure of the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)Los Angeles County health officials are calling for an independent study into the short- and long-term health effects on residents near the San Fernando Valley’s Aliso Canyon, which in 2015 was the site of the largest natural gas blowout in U.S. history. The county Department of Public Health’s request for proposals, announced Tuesday, seeks third-party researchers to lead the Aliso Canyon Disaster Health Research Study, officials said. The announcement was a long time coming for residents of the surrounding Porter Ranch community, which was most affected by the massive October 2015 leak from Southern California Gas Co.’s Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in the Santa Susana Mountains. The leak lasted 111 days and released more than 109,000 metric tons of methane — a potent greenhouse gas — and other chemicals into the area.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 20, 2022 21:21 UTC