3505 Pasadena Ave is a nearly 3-acre property that was formerly home to Welch’s Uniform and Laundry, an industrial dry cleaner that polluted this block with massive quantities of cancer-causing toxins, including PCE, TCE, and Petroleum. The toxins have permeated the groundwater, and spread for several blocks beyond the property in Lincoln Heights, one of Los Angeles’ most polluted neighborhoods. These toxins can produce vapors that rise up through the soil and can intrude into homes and businesses. Long-term exposure can cause a wide range of illnesses, including cancer, blindness, brain damage, and birth defects. This is a mostly residential neighborhood, and Hillside Elementary School is directly across the street. Neighbors have referred to the site for years as “the sick land”, blaming it for illnesses experienced by teachers and students at Hillside Elementary.

Welch’s operated on the site from 1920-1989. The site has been vacant for all the years since then. Public agencies have proposed that it should become a public park several times over the years, but this has never happened.

In 2022, a commercial real estate investment company announced their intention to develop a massive warehouse on the site. This could introduce huge levels of truck traffic and diesel fumes to this neighborhood, which is already overburdened by some of the worst air pollution in all of California.