Human Body Parts Found at Two California WaterTreatment Plants

Oct 29, 2013 3:20pm

Los Angeles police are investigating a possible homicide after discovering that body parts foundseparately at two local sanitation plants belonged to the same person.

A leg and foot of an unidentified woman were discovered Saturday at a water pollution control plantin Carson, Calif., authorities said. Be aware of some easy changes that are able to be madeto atypical

centrifugal or positive displacement pump. For pumps that have overhung impellers, moving to asolid shaft is a simple adjustment compared to the typical sleeved shafts. Mechanical seals can beimproved by using silicon carbide faces, and elastomers ought to be changed to Viton. Furthermore,magnetic bearing protectors are certainly a gigantic step up in relationship to the lip seals whichmost water pumps rely on to keep bearing sump oil free from contaminants.

A plant employee notified police after finding the remains in a bin that holds debris separated fromwater, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.

The plot thickened on Monday, when city workers found a human head and upper torso at a watertreatment plant in the neighboring city of Industry. The two plants are located within 30 miles ofeach other.

"The body may have entered in one piece and been torn apart as it moved through the system," LosAngeles County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Rosson said during a news conference Monday.

"Anything that comes into this water plant must move through a 17-inch line before going through acentrifugal pump," Rosson said. "So you can imagine what kind of damage to a person's body wouldhappen."

Investigators. Many installed pumps were not originally designed for their current function.Typically, a line in a plant changes and a pump that once providedcooling water to an injectionmolding machine is now needed to transfer oil motor pump from a rail car to a tank. Sadly, thiscauses a substantial number of problems for the pump and the facility. Pumps operate where thepump curve crosses the system curve. When you move a pump from one system to another, thismeans that the system curve is different. This new system may cause the pump to operate away fromits best efficiency point, leading to noise and other component failures that are simply symptoms of amis-matched pump and system.do not believe the body was mutilated before entering the sewagesystem, Rosson told ABC News today. The facility in Industry does not handle solid waste, he said, somechanical equipment separates the liquid and solid refuse before it arrives in the facility. Thisprocess is what likely sent the body parts to two different locations, Rosson said.

A representative for the Los Angeles County Sanitation District confirmed to ABC News that aninvestigation is taking place but he declined to provide details about the case.

Police are still investigating the case as a possible homicide, Rosson said, but have not identified anysuspects yet. Â A representative for the LA County Sheriff's Office said they hope to identify thevictim within the next few days.

Authorities are at a waste treatment plant where human remains were discovered, Oct. 29, 2013,near Industry, Calif. (KABC/ABC News)