Dive Brief:

• The Environmental Protection Agency is conducing a federal investigation into a California battery recycler, Exide Technologies.
• The EPA disclosed that the facility is in violation of the Clean Air Act's lead emissions standards in over 30 instances.
• During its review of the facility, the EPA collected data from air quality monitoring devices, which pointed to elevated lead emission levels that were above the federal standards over an extended period of time.

Dive Insight:

According to the Environmental Leader, federal clean air laws require areas with polluted air to create a State Implementation Plan in order to maintain EPA air standards. In accordance with SIP in California, recycling plants with lead-acid batteries may not have air that is more than 0.15 micrograms per meter cubed over 30 consecutive days. According to those parameters, the EPA maintains that Exide violated the law and will face fines of up to $37,500 every day for each individual violation.