Why Quemetco battery-recycling plant must be cleaned up

Since the Exide battery-acid plant in Vernon was closed down for pollution, Quemetco is the only battery recycling facility in west of the Rocky Mountains. Batteries at the City of Industry site are processed not only from the western states but foreign countries as well. The plant currently processes 1.2 million pounds of car batteries each day. Although pollution from this plant has been a major concern for years, anxiety recently elevated because Quemetco last year asked the California Department of Toxic Substances Control for a 10-year extension of its permits to continue the storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes at its facility. 

Quemetco this year was told to cut its arsenic emissions after an assessment found they posed an increased cancer risk to 12,000 people. (Read the full L.A Times story here.)

The map shows an overlay of affected areas around Quemetco.

What makes this battery recycling so dangerous

Batteries are received at the plant where they are processed by separating the liquid acid and the leaded materials from the battery casings. Acid is neutralized and wastewater flows to the wastewater treatment plant on site, then reused or discharged to the Sanitation District. Leaded contents are transferred to the in-house smelters for lead recovery.  Various amounts of antimony, arsenic, copper, nickel, and/or tin are added to the molten lead in several refining kettles to ultimately produce lead bars to meet customer specifications. The battery casings are crushed into small pieces, washed and dried prior to transfer to a truck for transportation to Bakersfield for plastic recycling. Emissions are fed through air pollution controls, including bag houses, a scrubber, and a wet electrostatic precipitator. The primary pollutants of concern for this facility are arsenic, lead, benzene, and 1,3-butadiene.  

In 2004, soil, dust and sediment samples revealed up to 52,000 mg/kg for lead contmination around the plant. The following year, Quemetco was required to take emergency interim measures to remove or cover lead-contaminated soil, dust and sediment and cleanup along San Jose Creek that flows adjacent to the plant. Some areas were capped with pavement, but local residents discovered some hazardous material was illegally being taken to the nearby Puente Hills Landfill. This was reported. Trucks were then observed dumping the contaminated soil near the creek.

Toxic Substances Control began testing residential, public, commercial area soils in an area up to a ¼ mile radius around the plant in late June, after long delays resulting from Quemetco's proposed inadequate testing protocols. Finally the agency’s testing of public right of ways and around Quemetco for lead and other metals is complete. However, the agency has not made public the locations where soil with hazardous waste levels over 1000 ppm were found (1000 ppm. is the threshold for industrial areas). Testing of private yards is currently taking place, however only about 1/3 of the homes in the quarter-mile radius have been studied. and no commercial areas have been covered.  

What can you do?

The Angeles Chapter's San Gabriel Valley Task Force and CAC asks the public to write an email or letter raising concerns about Quemetco to Barbara Lee, Director at the Department of Toxic Substances Control  (DTSCDirectorsOffice@dtsc.ca.gov); Los Angeles County supervisors (particularly Hilda Solis and Don Knabe); and state representatives (particularly Ian Calderon).

It is important to include the following points:

1. That Toxic Subances Control make a real effort to sample at least the majority of the 300-plus residences and 27 commercial properties within the 1/4 mile radius ASAP. They have sampled only 70 homes and NO commercial properties as of 8/11/16. 

2. Folks should ask Toxic Substances Control to release ALL soil test data publicly ASAP at least in summary form but preferably with discrete numbers showing levels of lead, arsenic, antimony, and cadmium found in samples and as well as distances of these samples from Quemetco. The public rights-of-way data from streets, etc. should be specified.

Joan Licari is a conservation activist and chair of the San Fernando Valley Group of Sierra Club Angeles Chapter.