Escondido

Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy on Friday declared the location of the former Chatham Brothers chemical distillery “the most threatening site in San Diego County” because of uncertainty over whether the contaminants in the ground will pollute the water table. On a continuing tour of toxic waste sites in California, he visited the site at the corner of Bernardo Avenue and Gamble Lane. McCarthy, who later this month will chair public hearings on toxic waste disposal, said state funds need to be allocated for further studies of ground contamination at the Chatham Brothers site, but fell short of saying when or whether that would occur. “There is a sense of urgency in Sacramento (about toxic waste), but it has to be quadrupled,” he told reporters after walking across the site wearing protective boots. County health officials say heavy metals, organic chemicals and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the former chemical distillery have polluted the ground at the site.