The Elite Group Selected to Provide VOC Testing to Help Porter Ranch Residents

(Newswire.net -- March 21, 2016) Diamond Bar, California --The Elite Group Property Inspections, Inc., California's largest home inspection company with over 350,000 homes worth of inspection and environmental testing experience, has been selected by counsel for the Porter Ranch community as site managers for the VOC testing project from InspectorLab to help ensure it is safe to return home for residents that have been displaced for several months.

The scale of the project is enormous, with over 4,000 homes to be tested.  The Elite Group will do on site coordination, along with the assistance of several InspectorLab testing professionals throughout the region- based on scheduling and demand.

What is being called the largest natural gas disaster in U.S. history has even caught the attention of renowned consumer advocate Erin Brockovich who is now working to seek justice for the victims of the Porter Ranch gas leak.

Aliso Canyon is currently an essential part of Southern California’s natural gas system, serving over 11 million people in the Los Angeles Basin. The well, owned by Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) and located in the Aliso Canyon storage field near the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles, had been leaking since October 23, 2015.

After reviewing the results of multiple tests developed in consultation with independent experts, on February 18th, state regulators confirmed that the leaking natural gas storage well has been permanently sealed.

While homeowners are being told to return to their homes in Porter Ranch, residents remain concerned about the air quality in their neighborhood. Air quality monitoring indicates that the low levels of air toxics, including benzene, detected in Porter Ranch outdoor air are below levels that pose significant health risks.

Complaints by residents suggest that mercaptans, which are odorants required to be added to natural gas, have been present in Porter Ranch at varying levels since the gas leak started. Based on available information, mercaptans do not show an impact to long term health, especially at the levels present in Porter Ranch.  However, some individuals may experience adverse effects to the strong odors of mercaptans such as nausea and headaches and testing has not been done on long term exposure to the odorants.

The Elite Group’s VP of operations, Chad Hett said, “We’re proud to be a part of the solution for Porter Ranch homeowners that have had their lives turned upside down by the leak. Our comprehensive air quality testing will hopefully restore a sense of comfort, and ease their health and safety concerns so they can get their lives back to normal again as they move back into the neighborhood.”

About The Elite Group Property Inspections, Inc.