What is Bound to happen? Earthquake or Toxic Soil?

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rickhunter_IHB

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What's more likely to occur? Your opinions and reasons please...



1. You, family, getting cancer from Toxic Soil

2. EarthQuake hitting Southern California, killing thousands



For 1, you sign a waiver acknowledging the risks. But you might not get it, but they have to disclose, etc.

For 2, you buy earthquake insurance, you know the risks cause scientists have proclaimed them for decades with cold, hard facts, you've felt occasiional tremblers.



if you decide to buy on toxic soil, as the years go by and nothing happens, and more research comes out saying it's ok, then the value goes up?



if people start to get sick, lawsuits come out, and more research proves it, then the value goes down. in all likelihood if this happens, hell will break loose, surrounding areas of tustin ranch, west irvine, Columbus Grove, Woodbury, Orchard Hills, Portola, etc will have outbreaks also, everybody close by will be affected? Dont you think?
 
rickhunter,



The soil is not toxic.



Please refer to this post.



<a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewreply/56329/">http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewreply/56329/</a>
 
[quote author="rickhunter" date=1214287067]What's more likely to occur? Your opinions and reasons please...



1. You, family, getting cancer from Toxic Soil

2. EarthQuake hitting Southern California, killing thousands



For 1, you sign a waiver acknowledging the risks. But you might not get it, but they have to disclose, etc.

For 2, you buy earthquake insurance, you know the risks cause scientists have proclaimed them for decades with cold, hard facts, you've felt occasiional tremblers.



if you decide to buy on toxic soil, as the years go by and nothing happens, and more research comes out saying it's ok, then the value goes up?



if people start to get sick, lawsuits come out, and more research proves it, then the value goes down. in all likelihood if this happens, hell will break loose, surrounding areas of tustin ranch, west irvine, Columbus Grove, Woodbury, Orchard Hills, Portola, etc will have outbreaks also, everybody close by will be affected? Dont you think?</blockquote>


Building over toxic sites in the past history has not yield happy endings. Endless documentaries and award winning dramas were based on this theme. This issue is relatively new and obviously people are scared.



When Aids first appeared in the early 80's everyone was worried sick and now it is a routine to fill out on most medical forms. Magic Johnson is living a lot longer than many of the first generation HIV population. It is not as a big deal now.



Earthquake is common in California and most building built correctly would survive it unlike the governmental structure in China where contractors knowingly striped out steel and anchor bolts to save a few dollars. People over the years learned to tolerate earthquakes.



People today are uncomfortable living near power lines or near tall attennas. Living with the unknown is a terrible feeling to have everyday. It affects the inner spirit. Bad feng shui in my term.



It is all about PR and branding. One can not build a good brand on flawed material. The public perception is very powerful. Unfortunately for the Tustin Base projects it is perceived and feel like K-mart of housing and continue to offer more incentive to sell off its inventory. Good brands seldom have sales. It is a strategy to keep the brand's value. Even K-mart tried to disguise its bad name by buying the Sears label to conceal its identity. Kaufman and Broad tried to disguise its name as KB Homes. Once the bad perception is out and it will never recover as a desirable place to live. Notice that the word Tustin or Military words were never used in the community names.



Buyers seek out Irvine to minimize the risk of crime and other bad elements that may happen to kids. They are paying much more. Yes there are other risk like driving and flying as well. John Wayne so far has no landing accidents but most airports have them. Is it long over due? Where would it likely to occur? Most likely along its path?



It is price vs risk. Is the price low enough to assume the risk? We do not know and it is a gamble with the Russian Roulette.



Acpme posted a good example regarding the tomatos and every Mexican restaurant eliminated tomatos in their salsa and fast food replaced the tomato with an extra leaf of lettuce.
 
me or family member getting cancer from toxins in the environment.



reason - I am aware of quite a few my classmates' parents who have cancer and they did not fit any high risk category (that I am aware). I don't know what the statistical probability of contracting cancer is, but the number of people I grew up around who have it is quite high.
 
[quote author="ABC123" date=1214296557]me or family member getting cancer from toxins in the environment.



reason - I am aware of quite a few my classmates' parents who have cancer and they did not fit any high risk category (that I am aware). I don't know what the statistical probability of contracting cancer is, but the number of people I grew up around who have it is quite high.</blockquote>


Here is an exerpt from Wikipedia regarding Beverly Hills High near toxic fume and cancer cases.



[edit] Oil well

Owned by the Venoco Oil Company, an oil well on Beverly's campus can easily be seen by drivers heading west on Olympic Boulevard towards Century City. The oil well has drilled most of the oil out of Beverly's campus and has been slant drilling under many homes and apartment buildings in Beverly Hills for decades.



As of May 2006, the Beverly Hills High School well was pumping out 400 to 500 barrels a day, earning the school approximately $300,000 a year in royalties [9].



In the mid-1990s, an art studio volunteered to cover the well, which at that point was solid gray in color, with individual tiles that had been painted by kids with cancer[10]. The studio created the design and drew the lines on the tiles, but children painted the tiles in between the lines. The studio made the design rather abstract: the design consists of random shapes on different-colored backgrounds. A ceremony inaugurating the design was held in 2001.



Beverly gained more notoriety when Erin Brockovich and Ed Masry announced having filed three lawsuits in 2003 and 2004 on behalf of 25, 400, and 300 (respectively) former students who attended Beverly from the 1970s until the 1990s. (The number of actual cancer claims filed in Santa Monica was only ninety-four[11]). The lawsuits claim that toxic fumes from the oil well caused the former students [12] to develop Hodgkin's lymphoma or cancer. The oil well is very close to all of Beverly's sports facilities, including the soccer field, the football field, and the racetrack. Beverly students -- not just athletes but students taking required physical education classes from the 1970s until the 1990s -- were required to run near the oil well. The city, the school district, and the oil companies named as defendants disputed this assertion, claiming that they have conducted air quality tests with results showing that air quality is normal at the high school. [13][14] In 2003, the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine published a "Community Cancer Assessment Regarding Beverly Hills, California" which failed to support Masry's claims.[15]



After receiving complaints about Beverly's oil well, the region?s air-quality agency investigated Venoco Oil (doing business as Veneco, Inc) and in 2003 issued three "notices of violation" regarding the operation of the well. Venoco, Inc's penalty settlement included requirements that the company maintain continuous air quality monitoring at the high school, and prevent any oilfield gas (which is primarily methane gas) from being released into the atmosphere.[16]



On December 12, 2006, the first 12 plaintiffs (of over 1000 total) were dismissed on summary judgment because there was no indication that the contaminant (benzene) caused the diseases involved and the concentrations were hundreds to thousands of times lower than levels associated with any risk. [17] In Fall of 2007, the plaintiffs agreed to pay the School District and the City up to $450,000 for expenses from the lawsuits [18].



The oil well may have inspired a 1991 episode of the sitcom Saved By the Bell titled "Pipe Dreams." In it, oil is discovered at fictional Bayside High School in Pacific Palisades, California. There's excitement about the financial possibilities, but when a company comes in to drill, the character of Jessie realizes that it could be detrimental to the local environment.



In June 2004 Beverly Hills Courier Editor Norma Zager was named "Journalist of the Year" in the Los Angeles Press Club's Southern California Journalism Awards competition for her coverage of the Erin Brockovich-Edward Masry lawsuit[19]. A book about the oil well and lawsuit, "Parts Per Million: The Poisoning of Beverly Hills High School" by Joy Horowitz was published in July 2007
 
i think the sun is more toxic then the soil. if i stand in direct sunlight for over half an hour, i can feel the harmful radiation. our skin even changes tone to show our body's reaction to it. as for toxic soil, wear some shoes.



i believe that perceived risks are important. but there is a small population of people who fear everything. it's when a large population has fears is when the perceived risks become significant.



personally, i'm much more afraid of the known than the unknown. it's better to deal with imminent problems than what-if problems.



so yeah folks, get off your butts and go exercise. you're more likely going to die from obesity than toxic soil.
 
I think BK, acpme, I have a higher likelihood of getting shanked by a new home [strike]sales[/strike] hostess. I will take my chances of the earthquake over any of the real or perceived risks.
 
[quote author="graphrix" date=1214310834]I think BK, acpme, I have a higher likelihood of getting shanked by a new home [strike]sales[/strike] hostess. I will take my chances of the earthquake over any of the real or perceived risks.</blockquote>
Imagine -- earthquake, massive property damage, infrastructure in shambles, people in panic. Realtor's Mantra: "It's a Great Time to Buy!"



Seriously, the earthquake will happen. It's just a question of when, and whether we'll still be around or sprouting crabgrass around our headstones. Keep some bottled water and canned food in the house.
 
*Turn fear monger mode on*



water, food, and plenty of ammunition to keep your hands on the food and water.... look at what happend with Katrina. LA has more members of street gangs than almost anywhere. There are tens of thousands of them across the area and they control territory measured in city blocks like a little thug fiefdom. Most of them are armed with to the teeth with pistols and fully automatic weapons like AK-47s and they are willing to kill or be killed in order to eat on the mean streets. These people are committing violent crimes by the age 10 and 11, there was a really well documented case on TV about MS-13 where one of the members did a gang related shooting at 9.5 years old. If there was a real massive earthquake down here, which at some point there will be due to the strain accumulation in the San Andres fault, I would make sure you have a backup plan because we are going to look like a meal ticket for the displaced and desperate. Also, new construction is generally better with regard to earthquakes because they have stronger building codes which require stuff like shear walls.



*fear monger mode off*



really though, you can worry so much that you don't live life. Be happy you are in a nice part of the world and enjoy your time here. Last I checked nobody gets out alive!
 
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