Public health impact of the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest

Our plain-English summary of Public health impact of the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest, by C.A. Evans (Public Health Reports, 1993).

The study

• Author: C.A. Evans
• Journal: Public Health Reports
• Published: 1993;108(3):265-72
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Free full text

Abstract

The Los Angeles civil unrest in April 1992 stunned the nation. The days of violence resulted in 53 deaths, 2,325 reported injuries, more than 600 buildings completely destroyed by fire, and approximately $735 million in total damages. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the activities of the Public Health Programs and Services Branch of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services during and after the civil unrest and to illustrate the types of public health issues and problems that may result from large-scale civil disturbance. Public health agencies and jurisdictions should consider these issues in their disaster planning. Public Health Programs and Services Branch activities were directly affected by the violence and destruction. Women, Infants and Children Program vouchering sites and 20 drug program and alcohol recovery sites were damaged or burned and 15 county health centers closed during the unrest. At least 38 private medical and dental offices and 45 pharmacies were destroyed or damaged. County health authorities offered facilities to house relocated private care providers and filled prescriptions for medications where needed. The environmental health impact required the inspection of 2,827 burned and damaged sites for hazardous waste including asbestos; at 9 percent of the inspected sites, waste required special disposal. More than 1,000 food facilities suffered damage and required inspection before reopening. In the 3 months following the unrest, a 20-percent increase in disposal capacity was authorized at four county landfills to accommodate the disposal of debris. Violence was a public health issue of particular concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a team to study the violence from an epidemiologic perspective. The Federal agency also provided funding for televised children's talk shows dealing with reactions to the violence.

In plain English

This article was a descriptive report, not a research study, written by a Los Angeles County public health official. It gave an overview of how the county's public health branch responded during and after the April 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles County. The author reported that 53 people died and 2,325 were reported injured, 248 of whom were admitted to hospitals. Asbestos came up only as part of the hazardous-materials response: there was general concern about asbestos in the burned debris and in the air. County staff and the fire department surveyed 2,827 sites and found 9 percent needed clean-up. More than one-third of those contained asbestos. The article did not report asbestos measurements, fiber types, or any health effects from asbestos. The author noted that volunteers helping with the clean-up raised the possibility of exposure to hazardous substances. Toxic substance monitoring stations were not set up because of the potential for violence. The author concluded that local health officials should include response procedures for major civil unrest in their contingency planning.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Descriptive report (overview) of a county health department's activities during and after a civil disturbance; not a research study
• Who was studied: Los Angeles County, California, and its public health services, facilities and residents during the 5-day civil unrest that began April 29, 1992, and its aftermath
• Exposure: The civil unrest and the fires it caused, including hazardous materials released from burned structures. Asbestos is mentioned only as a general concern in burned debris and the atmosphere. No fiber types or doses are given.
• Main results:
  • For the whole incident, 53 persons died and 2,325 were reported injured, of whom 248 were admitted to hospitals
  • Of 2,827 sites surveyed for hazardous materials, 9 percent needed clean-up, and more than one-third of those contained asbestos
  • The estimated cost of the hazardous waste clean-up was almost $3 million
  • Many people helped with the clean-up in the days after the unrest, which the author said raised the possibility of their exposure to hazardous substances
  • Air pollutant levels never exceeded Federal 24-hour standards. Fine dust in downtown Los Angeles on the second day of the fires rose hour by hour and peaked at 449 micrograms per cubic meter.
  • On the second day of unrest, 10 health centers in the impact areas had closed by noon and five more by 3 p.m.
  • At least 15 private medical and 23 dental offices were lost to fires, and more than 45 pharmacies were burned, looted, or damaged
  • 551 licensed food facilities were totally destroyed or heavily damaged, and another 564 suffered damage of less than 50 percent
  • The unrest may have produced as much as 100,000 tons of debris, and a 20-percent increase in daily allowable solid waste disposal was authorized at four county landfills
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the department's generic disaster plan did not apply to the unique problems of large-scale civil unrest, and that local health officials should include response procedures for major civil unrest in their contingency planning
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Toxic substance monitoring stations were not set up in the affected areas because of the potential for violence
  • The CDC epidemiologic study of the violence was not yet complete
  • The long-term effects on the health services system could not yet be fully determined
  • The author noted that the period just after a disaster is the most difficult time to gather data

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Damages, Jurisdiction.

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