| June 18, 2008 Town
Hall Meeting Set to Discuss Enforcement Actions
Southland air quality officials will host a community meeting on Thursday
to discuss aggressive air pollution control measures it has imposed on Exide
Technologies, a lead-acid battery recycling plant in Vernon, after site
monitoring indicated that the facility violated health standards for lead
emissions.
The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Maywood Community
Center/Dolores Huerta Hall at 4801 E. 58th St.
“Lead is a highly toxic air pollutant,” said Barry Wallerstein, executive
officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “AQMD has taken
necessary steps to ensure that Exide’s emissions will not pose a threat to
public health.”
Exide is located at 2700 S. Indiana St. in the industrial city of Vernon,
nearly three-quarters of a mile from the nearest residences. While airborne
lead levels monitored immediately adjacent to the plant exceeded ambient
lead standards set in AQMD’s Rule 1420, no such exceedances were detected in
any residential areas, AQMD officials said.
Last month, AQMD revised the air permit for Exide, effectively ordering
the battery recycling plant to cut its maximum production by about 50
percent and issued a revised compliance plan with a new set of 27 conditions
to reduce its lead emissions. Exide is appealing the new permit before the
AQMD Hearing Board and has filed a petition with the Hearing Board for
temporary relief from the throughput cut.
AQMD also is intensively monitoring airborne lead levels next to the
plant on a daily basis. Most recent AQMD monitoring data shows that ambient
lead levels have decreased by more than 50 percent and that the plant
complied with AQMD’s ambient lead standards during the month of May. Full
results of AQMD’s monitoring will be presented at the town hall meeting and
posted later this week on AQMD’s website at
www.aqmd.gov.
AQMD began investigating lead emissions at Exide last fall following a
public complaint alleging that particulate and dust fall out from the plant
was coating nearby cars and buildings. AQMD placed sampling collection
plates and installed an additional ambient air monitor across the street
from the plant and found that the collected particles contained lead and the
ambient lead concentrations beyond the facility property lines exceed the
limit of 1.5 micrograms of lead per one cubic meter of air, averaged over 30
days, specified in AQMD Rule 1420.
AQMD issued violation notices to Exide for violating the limit during
five consecutive months, from December 2007 to April 2008. During that
time, monthly average lead levels ranged, approximately, from 2.0 to 2.9
micrograms per cubic meter. In addition to violating AQMD’s Rule 1420, as
a result of Exide’s lead emissions into the atmosphere, AQMD also detected
an exceedance of the federal ambient air quality standard for lead of 1.5
micrograms per cubic meter averaged over 90 days.
As a result of these exceedances, AQMD ordered Exide to cut its
throughput almost in half and approved a revised Rule 1420 compliance plan
to require Exide to take remedial actions including:
- Immediately reducing the amount of material processed in its
furnaces. Processing levels may be restored incrementally if, over a
60-day period, monitoring data shows average lead emissions are clearly
below ambient air quality standard levels set by EPA and AQMD rules;
- Immediately commencing cleanup of all lead-dust at the facility,
including rooftops and areas adjacent to the facility, such as public
sidewalks and roadways;
- Inspecting and repairing any facility structures within 30 days to
ensure no leaks or gaps exist that would allow lead or lead dust to be
released into the ambient air;
- Maintaining an AQMD-approved mobile sweeper onsite and using it three
times daily at the facility and on adjacent roads, except during rain; and
- Installing and operating at least three fence-line air quality
monitors and at least two off-site monitors and collecting and reporting
ambient lead data to AQMD.
Battery recycling facilities shred used batteries then dry them and melt
them in large furnaces and remove and recycle the lead used in batteries.
Exide is one of two battery recycling plants west of the Mississippi. The
other facility, Quemetco, is located in the City of Industry. Quemetco
violated AQMD’s lead limits during two months in 2000 but has not violated
the limit since then.
Lead is a toxic heavy metal that can cause nerve damage and impair the
body’s ability to function properly. People can be exposed to lead through
air, food and water, and children are especially vulnerable. Even
relatively small amounts of lead can cause slowed growth in children and can
damage the brain and nervous system. EPA is presently evaluating ambient
lead standards and is considering stricter ambient lead standards.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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