LA County Board of Supervisors will likely vote to oppose Quemetco’s expansion, push for more lead pollution tests
In a motion set for a vote on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors stands ready to oppose expansion of a lead-acid battery recycling facility in City of Industry with a history of state and local violations.
The five-member board is prepared to throw its full weight behind a position previously expressed by Supervisor Janice Hahn in a three-fold motion that asks the state to deny a permit that would allow Quemetco to increase operations by 25 percent and operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Quemetco produces about 120,000 tons of reclaimed lead a year from 600 tons of used lead-acid batteries a day, according to its website. The plant — the largest west of the Rockies — operates on 15 acres at 720 S. Seventh Ave.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District lists the primary “pollutants of concern” from the recycling process as lead, arsenic and benzene. Quemetco received four notices of violations for exceeding permitted arsenic levels since July 2017.
Lead can damage a child’s nervous system, causing disabilities and behavioral problems. Human studies show arsenic exposure can cause cancer of the lung, bladder and skin, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
In the motion, the Board asks the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the SCAQMD to deny expansion “until all violations of state law are remedied and the contamination caused by Quemetco is cleaned up.”
The Board also calls on the DTSC to include in the permit evaluation process the past 10 years of operations, violations and compliance history. These powers were recently approved by the state Legislature for the agency to use in permitting.
As part of those new permitting powers, the DTSC should create a violations scorecard of “acceptable,” “conditionally acceptable” or “unacceptable,” the board motion urges. For example, if Quemetco was to receive an “unacceptable score,” the DTSC could revoke the plant’s permit to operate.
Finally, the motion asks DTSC to expand testing for lead in residential backyards and inside homes in Avocado Heights, Hacienda Heights, La Puente and Bassett, a sixfold expansion that would include areas at least 1.6 miles from the facility as a way to “determine the full extend of the lead contamination caused by Quemetco.”
Testing expansion
Since 2016, around one-third of the 368 residences within a quarter-mile of Quemetco have been tested.
In December, the DTSC called those tests inadequate, stating they did not demonstrate a lack of impact from Quemetco’s operations. The California Attorney General’s Office sued the company in October, alleging 29 violations of state law, including failures to stop hazardous waste from migrating into neighborhoods and an underground aquifer.
Quemetco said there was “no scientific reason justifying the additional sampling” and attributed high concentrations of lead to other sources, such as lead paint and nearby roadways.
“Quemetco looks forward to continuing to work closely with the members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to answer any questions about our proposed or ongoing operations while we continue to provide an essential public service and to ensure the safety of our workforce, our neighbors and the environment,” said Dan Kramer, Quemetco spokesman in an emailed response Monday.
Scott Martin, president of the Hacienda Heights Improvement Association, said he will present concerns from people in the community at the board meeting.
He will also deliver a letter from the Sierra Club’s San Gabriel Valley task force in opposition to the plant’s expansion.