Samohi’s club “Team Marine” is calling for in-depth environmental testing of the ocean due to major health concerns after recent rains flushed ash and debris from the Palisades fire into the water.
Founded in 2006 by Samohi teacher Benjamin Kay, Team Marine was created to raise awareness about marine environmental issues and promote a safer, healthier ocean. The organization eventually evolved into a school-run club, allowing students to more effectively operate within the school environment, and is now an important part of the Samohi community.
In recent years, Team Marine got their Climate Literacy Resolution passed through the SMMUSD Board of Education, which resulted in new classroom requirements to educate students about climate change and environmental effects in an age-appropriate manner.
A large part of the marine health testing they do is visual, said Kay. The club goes down to the Pico-Kenter storm drain after the first rains, known as “flushes”, and assesses what’s in the water (i.e. plastics, dirt, trash) and uses those observations to get a general idea of the direction marine health is going in. After the first flush this year, they were so concerned by their findings that they organized a beach cleanup. Emmy Fay, one of the club’s co-presidents, also played a key role in this initiative.
“I don’t think it’s safe to go in the water at all, I don’t know if it’s even safe to walk barefoot in the sand, especially now…After the fires and all of the lead, asbestos and other carcinogens that are probably in the bay right now, I won’t be in the ocean again for at least another couple months,” said Fay
Team Marine’s testing involves work with groups like Heal the Bay and Surfrider Foundation to look for specific contaminants. In addition, several other government agencies are testing local waters including the EPA, LA Department of Beaches and Harbors and the Department of Public Health. Beaches and Harbors has said ash washing ashore isn’t dangerous but Public Health has closed some stretches of ocean water due to concerns about debris.
Kay was particularly concerned about a cancer causing chemical, dioxin, that has been found in smoke from fires burning in urban areas. While those chemicals have not been identified in any local testing following the Palisades Fire, Kay said the danger is high.
“It's one of the most toxic chemicals known on planet Earth, and it has different forms, and one of the forms of dioxin, we put in agent orange in Vietnam,” he said. “When we sprayed Vietnam, it led to multi-generational effects, birth defects, health consequences, deformities, cognitive impairment and cancers. So dioxins are perhaps one of the most deleterious substances on the planet.”
While the results of various tests are available online, Team Marine student Noah Pust said he’d like more information.
“It’s appalling to see the lack of regulation and the lack of information given to [surfers] because they probably don’t know how dangerous the water is—they know it’s contaminated but they don’t know the level, and how dangerous it gets after the fires,” he said.
According to Kay, for now the club will focus on raising public awareness through their social media platform (@teammarine), encouraging teens at Samohi to get involved in beach cleanups and collaborations.
