Q: When will you start testing?

A: We have rolled out rounds of sampling and testing since the middle of April. We are committed to effective and efficient testing and are in the field full-time.

Q: Is it too late to sign up? 

A: No. As long as our enrollment form is still active (available here), we are still accepting enrollments. 

Q: If I enrolled, does that automatically mean someone will come out and test my soil?

A: We are consistently in conversation with other organizations for additional funding and have expanded our initial sample size of 1,200 to 3,400 soil samples from affected properties. Although this does not automatically mean someone will come and test your soil, we now have the ability to test a larger number of properties from the community.

Q: What does CAP.LA stand for?

A: CAP.LA stands for Community Action Project Los Angeles. Our mission is to provide data-centered civic action, enabling household members and business owners to be proactive recovery partners.

Q: How many tests will you do? 

A: With our recent funding addition, we have expanded sample size from 1,200 to 3,400 comprehensive soil samples from affected properties. This encompasses testing soil from different areas of properties. This number may increase depending on funding and resources.

Q: How will I know if my property is selected? 

A: Since property selection is rolling, we will most likely get to your property and will let you know a few days in advance before going to your area.

Q: What can I do if my property is not selected?

A: While we would like to visit all properties, we recognize that we will not have the resources to comprehensively test all affected properties (as of July 17, we have more than 5,000 sign-ups). You also may be selected later on given funding and capacity. Alternatively, we offered a guided self-collected soil program for properties outside the burn zone, where if you collect and bring soil samples from your property to one of our pop-up locations or LMU campus earlier this year. We are working on plans to extend this offer to additional properties. Please reach out to info@cap.la for specific locations or fill out the Soil Testing Enrollment Form to receive updates.  

Q: What results will I receive? 

A: If your property is selected, you will receive comprehensive results from our field testing. These results show the range of levels for heavy metals tested as well as where samples were taken, so you can see which areas of your property have certain levels. For our guided self-collected soil program, you will receive similar results indicating the range of levels for heavy metals, just without property-level mapping.  

Q: How long will it take to get results back? 

A: We are estimating that it will take up to 3 weeks to get results for heavy metals from Handheld XRF (x-ray fluorescence) sent to homeowners. Results from extensive analysis for metals using ICP-MS and for PFAS using HPLC-MS/MS may take 4 weeks or more based on the number of samples to be processed and due to complex extraction steps and lead time for analytical instruments, which is beyond the control of CAP.LA team.  

Q: Who will be sent the individual results?

A: Homeowners will receive the results for their individual properties in the form of a PDF document.  

Q: Will you share the results with insurance companies?

A: No, we will not share individual results with others.

Q: What is the cost for the soil to be tested if we’re selected?

A: There is NO cost to homeowners if their property is selected, sampled, and tested as part of this project. We have heard from homeowners that some companies are charging between $5,000 to $10,000 to send someone out to their property and analyze their soil. Thanks to the generosity of the R&S Kayne Foundation for the seed funding, CAP-LA will never ask for payment from homeowners. 

Q: If our house burned down, are you only testing after Phase 2 is completed at a property? 

A: No. Although most of the testing will be after Phase 2 cleanup, so that our data will inform the owner if the soil is safe for living, we will also take soil samples before and after Phase 2 for some properties to examine the effectiveness of top 6-inch soil removal on clean up status of the soil. It is not a requirement for Phase 2 to be done for you to be enrolled or selected. 

Q: Are you only testing properties in a burn zone? 

A: No, we are testing soil from properties in the burn zones (burned homes and standing homes) and we also tested properties in adjacent areas.  

Q: Does a homeowner have to be on site during the sampling? 

A: No, you don’t have to be on site. You are welcome to be there (obviously, it’s your property!), and we’ll give you notice before going if you’d like to join. 

Q: How will we know people sampling the soil are affiliated with CAP.LA? 

A: Everyone collecting samples and taking notes as part of the project will wear CAP.LA gear and will carry identification. You are welcome to ask for identification at any point. 

Q: Who is overseeing the actual soil sampling and testing? 

A: Testing is being overseen by Dr. Sanjay Mohanty at UCLA. 

Q: Will the results be posted anywhere? 

A: Aggregated tests will be mapped and posted at www.cap.la. No individual results will be posted. Please see our results page here: https://www.cap.la/results.  

Q: What if I filled out something incorrectly? 

A: If at all possible, we will contact you to get the correct information (for example, if the address is missing or only a first name is listed). If you answered one of the later questions incorrectly, please go ahead and fill out the form again. The most recent submission will be kept. 

Q: I don’t want to give out too much information. How much personal information do you really need? 

A: We only ask for the most basic information. We will never request things like your full name, date of birth, immigration status, or any requests for payment. 

Q: Do you need to go into my home?  

A: No. We will never request to enter your home.  

Q: Is 3,400 a lot of soil samples? 

A: Based on publicly available studies, we did not find any other similar scale effort. So, we believe this may be one of the largest efforts where the results will be publicly shared.  

Q: Can the test results from prior wildfires inform these incidents? 

A: Potentially, but when you look back at past fires, agencies did not share the soil testing results of the 1000s of homes tested publicly. So, there’s really no available data to examine. There also may be slight differences in background chemicals between locations where wildfires occur. 

Q: Are you working with anyone else on this project? 

A: We are working with teams at UCLA, Purdue, LMU, and the R&S Kayne Foundation. 

Q: Are you only testing because FEMA is not? 

A: No, we were planning to offer the tests prior to FEMA and US Army Corps of Engineers’ announcements that they do not plan to test. We still hope FEMA and the State of California choose to conduct soil testing for the property owners impacted, however. 

Q: What metals and PFAS compounds are you testing for? 

A: We are testing all samples for the following metals: Lead, , vanadium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, and mercury. We are testing a subset of the samples for additional metals such as chromium and lithium and the following per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): PFOA, PFOS, PFBA, PFSA, PFHxS, and PFNA. 

Q: How are metals and PFAS compounds measured? 

A: We will measure metals using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after digesting the soil to leach all metals. Additionally, we will use high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) to measure PFAS. 

Q: Does submitting more than one enrollment form increase my chances of being selected? 

A: No, if there are submissions at duplicate addresses, we will remove the first one and keep the most recent submission. 

Q: Do homeowners have to complete the form or can people renting homes submit forms? 

A: Homeowners are to complete the form to give consent for us to access the property. 

Q: Is CAP.LA fundraising? 

A: While there is no cost for soil testing, we welcome support large and small to help further our reach in the community. If you would like more information about giving to CAP.LA please reach out to Brianne Gilbert here, or donate directly here: https://www.cap.la/funding.  

Q: Why when I am giving a donation am I giving to LMU?  

A: In order to stand up our efforts as quickly and efficiently as possible, we teamed up with LMU StudyLA to be our administrative and research partner. LMU StudyLA issues grants on our behalf to our additional research efforts and partners. Loyola Marymount University is a charitable institution of higher education with a section 501(c)3 and 509(a)1. LMU is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). LMU's Federal Tax Identification number is 95-1643334. Please contact Brianne Gilbert by email at info@cap.la for additional information.