A free health fair is scheduled Saturday, Oct.7, for residents of Harbor Gateway and surrounding communities who live close to manufacturing plants and superfund sites.
The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1435 Del Amo Blvd., in Torrance. It promises physical checkups and vitals, flu vaccinations, diabetes and hypertension screenings, lung screenings, as well as fun activities for kids.
Attendees can also access local resources, EBT and Medicare/Medi-Cal information. No medical insurance or ID is required for the services, which will be performed by Mobile Clinic at University of Southern California.
“We wanted to bring something out to our community in the Harbor Gateway, because sometimes we feel, you know, this is a small strip of the city of LA that’s often forgotten,” said Celia Alcala, president of Harbor Gateway South Neighborhood Council, the organization hosting the event.
The neighborhood council represents a small strip of land south of the 405 freeway that is bound by Western Avenue in the west and Normandie Avenue on the east.
It’s part of the Harbor Gateway community, a north-south corridor that was annexed by the City of Los Angeles in 1906 to connect to San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City and the Port of L.A. It’s neighboring cities include Torrance, Gardena and Carson.
The neighborhood is situated in a heavily-industrialized area that once housed many manufacturing plants and oil refineries. Nowadays, a number of these organizations have been replaced by trucking, shipping and logistics companies.
The area is also close to two superfund sites, including the former Del Amo production plant. From 1943-1972, the 280-acre site was used for the production of synthetic rubber. It’s undergoing a long-term cleanup due to past facility operations which had contaminated the site’s soil and groundwater with hazardous chemicals, according to the EPA.
The other superfund site in the area is the 13-acre former Montrose…
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