Testing soil safety after wildfires
Protecting Angelenos from dangerous contamination with free rapid-response soil testing. Our Contaminant Level Evaluation and Analysis for Neighborhoods (CLEAN) project is a USC program separate from L.A. Dept. of Public Health soil testing.
USC Launched 2025
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Partners
After the 2025 wildfires, we didn’t wait for an invitation to help. We saw a need and got to work.
With huge areas of L.A. covered in toxic debris, we launched CLEAN to give Angelenos the information they needed to recover and rebuild safely. No long wait times or complicated paperwork—just clear steps and straight answers.
The program builds on our TRACE project—where we’re retesting samples from the same areas each month to track how contamination changes over time. With CLEAN and TRACE, we’re helping families and local leaders make informed safety decisions with real-time data.
Meet the project team
Max Teirstein
Project Manager
Project team
Seth John
USC Dornsife Earth Sciences
Josh West
USC Dornsife Earth Sciences
Sam Silva
USC Dornsife Earth Sciences
Erika Garcia
Project Advisor
Keck School of Medicine
Noelle Held
USC Dornsife Biological Sciences
Cat Odendahl
USC Dornsife Earth Sciences, PhD Student
Katie Vega
Public Exchange
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