Dive Brief:
- The state Department of Toxic Substances Control closed down an Exide recycling plant in Vernon, CA, after issuing the facility eight new violations for its failure to protect against toxic waste spills near the area where battery acid is stored.
- Exide, a manufacturer of lead-acid batteries, received the violations after inspections found incidents that were not in accordance with the recycler’s hazardous waste permit.
- The company has 10 days to fix the violations.
Dive Insight:
The facility was already closed due to non-compliance with air quality regulations. The South Coast Air Quality Management District gave Exide 32 notices of violation from June 2012 to August 2014.
Exide has experienced a string of issues stemming from both the Vernon plant as well as its Reading, PA, location. In February 2013, the EPA opposed Exide’s plan to treat hazardous waste at a site at its Frisco, TX, facility due to concerns about air monitoring during the cleanup. In October, 2013, Exide announced a $7 million investment into its Vernon facility. The capital investment was designated to help the plant achieve compliance with environmental standards.
The company said Wednesday that it is committed to upgrading and eventually reopening the Vernon facility by investing more than $15 million in the plant over the next several years.