A Palisades community-soil sampling day, CLEAN, is planned from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 16. This event will be co-hosted with USC and the nonprofit Department of Angels and held at the Will Rogers State Park Polo Field.
Palisades Community Soil Testing Day Tickets, Sun, Nov 16, 2025 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
The CLEAN (Contaminant Level Evaluation and Analysis for Neighborhoods) project is a USC program funded by FireAid and LA Care.
Organizers write that “The event will give folks a chance to chat with environmental contamination experts, learn how to properly collect samples under our new protocol, and participate in fun, family-friendly activities.”
If you live nearby and need help collecting a sample, register for the event and select the option, “I can’t make it, but want my soil tested.” Organizers will do their best to send a volunteer to your property (pending volunteer capacity and demand).
Volunteers are needed to collect samples from local properties in the Palisades. Register for the event. One will see the option to mark oneself as a volunteer after submitting a registration.
Soil sample drop-offs will be accepted at Will Rogers on Sunday. The LA County Department of Public Health will also be conducting free blood lead level testing at that site.
There is a new sampling procedure, Testing soil safety after L.A. wildfires – USC. The revised sampling protocol involves collecting composite samples from various locations across a property. This will help us (and you) get a more complete picture of possible lead contamination, rather than just one or two spots. If a person would like to send a new sample, they are welcome to do so.
In June 2025, an article in USC Dornsife (“$1 Million FireAid Grant Boosts USC Dornsife Researchers’ Wildfire Soil Testing Program) wrote, Preliminary testing by USC Dornsife scientists in February found that lead levels were highest in the burn areas of the Palisades and Altadena and decreased farther away from these zones. Still, most samples — even those collected in the burn zones — showed lead concentrations comparable to those found in many urban areas, including downtown L.A.
“We were relieved to find that the levels in and around the burn zones, while above the updated EPA standards, were still within the range found elsewhere in the city,” said Sam Silva, assistant professor of Earth sciences, civil and environmental engineering and population and public health sciences. “We were expecting much higher rates.” click here.
Hi Sue, in case you hadn’t heard, just wanted to let you know that the CLEAN soil testing day scheduled for Sunday has been postponed due to the expected rain.
Out of an abundance of caution, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone this weekend’s Community Soil Testing Day at Will Rogers State Park.
“The safety and comfort of our community always comes first. We want everyone to be able to fully enjoy and benefit from this event when conditions are safer and skies are clearer.
We’ll be announcing a new date soon and will share that update directly with all of you soon. The event will still feature free soil testing, expert talks, refreshments, family-friendly activities, and more — just at a later date.”