EXIDE VERNON SHUTDOWN UPDATE: Lead and arsenic removal from Vernon smelter site will take years; How to clean it up?
89.3 KPCC – SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO
Exide Closure: Lead and arsenic removal from Vernon plant will take years
Those excited by the agreed-upon permanent closure of the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon will have to settle in for a long wait — years — before all of the lead and arsenic contamination is stripped from the site.
Before cleanup can begin, officials with the Department of Toxic Substances Control say that a bankruptcy court will have to approve the terms of the agreement that Exide made with the Department of Justiceearlier this week.
Barbara Lee, director of the DTSC, said that she expects the court to approve the agreement on March 27.
Lee said that if that occurs, she expects the first phase of cleanup to begin in October. The first phase is the complete removal of structures from the property, a process that is expected to take nearly two years.
The extent of the contamination on the site needs to be characterized before demolition work can begin.
“They’re still working on the plans to begin that work, and we need to have all of those in place, primarily to make sure that it’s done properly and that there aren’t any exposures to the community resulting from that work,†Lee said.
The second phase — decontamination of the site — will take several years to complete.
Lee said that she is satisfied with the way the DTSC has handled the Exide case under her tenure.
“We worked really hard to ensure that one, the facility is closing; two, the site is being cleaned up; three, the residences are being cleaned up, and the community is being protected; and four, Exide is paying for it,†Lee said.
Cleanup of the neighboring residences is progressing, said Elise Rothschild, deputy director of the hazardous waste management program at the DTSC.
Cleaning facts:
- Of the 216 residences in the affected area, 58 have been sampled for contamination and nearly 40 have been cleaned
- Rothschild said that on average, cleanup of a residence takes about a week and costs roughly $45,000
- Exide has already spent roughly $700,000 on residential cleanup
Lee said that the DTSC is scheduling a community meeting in April to provide more information about the closure and cleanup.
EXIDE IS SHUT DOWN IN VERNON. NOW, HOW TO CLEAN IT UP
While more testing is expected, Exide and regulators are still negotiating over how to conduct the next state of the work. Photo by Maya Sugarman/KPCC
 NATURAL RESOURCE DEFENSE COUNCIL
Exide’s L.A. Lead Battery Facility to Close — Next Up, Clean Up
Under the agreement, Exide admits to felony violations of federal hazardous waste laws (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) for knowingly causing the illegal storage, disposal, and transport of hazardous waste in leaking van trailers from Exide to a facility not permitted for hazardous waste. Exide also agreed to proceed with closure and cleanup of the Vernon site, as well as cleanup in the surrounding community pursuant to existing agreements with state.
Ensuring the full and speedy cleanup of both the site and in particular the community is sure to be an ongoing battle. Existing agreements require Exide to set aside $38.6 million in installments for the closure and cleanup of the site itself, and $9 million in installments for off-site cleanup of up to 216 homes in two small areas closest to the facility. But the full extent of the contamination will be known only with thorough testing across a much larger area. While this further study is required under the existing agreements, it has not yet been done. So we simply do not know yet what it will take to fully address the whole problem, or whether all those involved will remain committed to that effort.
In the coming months and years, continued vigilance will be required to ensure that complete and speedy testing identifies the full extent of the contamination caused by Exide, and that a full cleanup quickly follows. Like the community, we stand ready to ensure just that.
