topsoil

The typical approach to dealing with contaminated dirt is stripping away the topsoil.

Last week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced it found high levels of lead and other toxic metals at homes destroyed by the wildfires whose topsoil had been scraped by the U.S.

The Army Corps and Federal Emergency Management Agency have said crews would clear wildfire debris and up to 6 inches of topsoil in ash-covered portions of the property.

Those tests typically had been used to determine whether cleanup crews should remove more than the first 6 inches of topsoil.

After previous wildfires, the Army Corps would first scrape 6 inches of topsoil from cleared properties and then test the ground underneath.