California to retest homes for lead near former Exide smelter

California state officials have agreed to retest residential properties for lead contamination near the former Exide battery smelter. This decision follows reports that previous cleanup efforts, which were part of the largest residential environmental cleanup in California history, failed to fully remove toxic substances.

Since the plant shuttered in 2015, residents in areas such as Boyle Heights have lived in zones identified by the Department of Toxic Substances Control as heavily impacted by lead and arsenic. Despite prior remediation efforts, state officials have known since at least 2023 that hundreds of properties still contain high levels of lead.

While the direct link between lead exposure and specific cancer rates in the area remains understudied, medical experts note that lead is a toxic chemical capable of damaging internal organs and reproductive systems.