Many may not know, but there is a gas station underneath the Fresno County Courthouse.

Now the safety of this gas station and its underground storage tanks is in question. Fresno attorney Warren Paboojian has sued the county, claiming that his ten clients – all former courthouse employees – have developed rare cancers that are often attributed to exposure to the chemicals in the gasoline.

Paboojian says it is not known how much harm the fumes and leaks from the gas station and its tanks have caused to current and former court employees. He adds that limited studies were conducted in 1990, 2007 and 2008. But he says the tests were not comprehensive enough to accurately depict the dangers of the underground refueling operation.

“This is just a quick look at these 10 (clients),” Paboojian said. “I don’t know how many people in the courthouse died of leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or MDS – we don’t know.”

Paboojian wants answers

Jamez Ardaiz, a former Fresno County and Fresno State judge and prosecutor, was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare cancer often caused by radiation or toxic chemicals such as benzene, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Former Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Ernest Duran worked with Ardaiz at the courthouse and was diagnosed with the same type of cancer.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), elevated levels of benzene have been detected in the air around gas stations across the country. The chemical is classified by the EPA as a carcinogen for humans.

Benzene can also seep into the soil and water wells from leaky storage tanks. After visiting the underground gas station, GV Wire noticed the smell of gasoline after a county employee filled up an SUV.

In his lawsuit, Paboojian alleges that faulty design and inadequate maintenance of the gas tanks caused dangerous amounts of benzene to leak into the air and soil around the courthouse.

“The cancer that the clients have is an environmental benzene cancer,” Paboojian said. “This is the cancer that all of my plaintiffs have, and it is the result of some kind of environmental exposure.”

Soil tests revealed pollutants associated with the gas tanks

Paboojian’s clients worked at the courthouse in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

In 1990, Fresno County replaced its 10,000-gallon storage tank at the courthouse, according to California Regional Water Quality Control Board records.

At that time, soil tests showed the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons, ethylbenzene and xylene, but no benzene or toluene – another dangerous chemical.

Nearly two decades later, leaks required another soil sample.

In 2007, the Fresno County Health Department found gasoline leaking into the ground, according to internal letters posted on the EPA’s underground storage tanks website that GV Wire was able to view. The tests took place when the Judicial Council of California took over management of the courthouse.

Tests showed that the concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons and xylenes were almost three times higher than those found in the 1990 test, and those of ethylbenzene were quadrupled. Tests from that time also revealed the presence of toluene.

Analysts concluded that the chemicals had not penetrated deep enough to enter the courthouse’s water supply, but records reviewed by GV Wire showed that the California Regional Water Quality Control Board held the county responsible for the release of the petroleum hydrocarbons.

In 2011, the case was closed after work to fix the problem was completed.

According to Cal EPA, there is no risk from soil contamination

The California Environmental Protection Agency concluded that the release did not pose a risk to human health, the environment or groundwater. Because the site is paved, skin contact is unlikely and the gasoline hydrocarbons in the soil will degrade naturally.

However, Paboojian questioned what steps were taken to resolve the issue, saying he had not received a response from either the water company or the county.

Several attempts by GV Wire to find out from the county how many gas tanks are located under the courthouse and how often they are replaced were unsuccessful.

“My preliminary information and documentation indicate that there were problems with leaks,” Paboojian said. “They had problems with benzene contamination. We just haven’t been given a clear history of the extent of the contamination over the years.”

Benzene levels in the air in 2008 were well above the permissible maximum levels

Paboojian says his biggest fear is that the site’s offices and courtrooms have chemically contaminated air. Tests conducted by a private company in 2008 found that benzene levels in the air were well above regulatory limits.

Walnut Creek-based Environmental Resources Management found benzene levels of 1.5 and 0.96 micrograms per cubic meter at two test sites in the courthouse, well above the 0.141 limit set by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

However, the test also showed a reading of 0.97 in the air around the courthouse, “which reflects the conditions on site,” the report said.

The tests conducted by the county were not comprehensive enough, Paboojian claims. He tried to have soil and air tests done, but the county refused. A Fresno County representative said he would not comment on the pending litigation.

Paboojian hopes the lawsuit will reveal what tests the county conducted.

“We don’t get an accurate picture of what has happened there in 50 years because the county is unwilling to cooperate, even though there are still employees working there,” Paboojian said.