Calif. agency cites Exide for hazardous waste violations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Jan. 29, 2015) — The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has issued eight violations of state hazardous waste laws against automobile battery maker and recycler Exide Technologies.

Violations were discovered during recent facility inspections at a lead battery recycling plant in Vernon, Calif., the company operates.

Among the most serious violations observed by DTSC inspectors, according to the agency, was treatment of contaminated sludge in tanks that Exide is not authorized to operate at the Vernon facility. Inspectors also found evidence the company “has failed to sufficiently protect against spills in an area where it stores materials including battery acid.”

DTSC's eight violations are described in a Summary of Violations issued to Exide on Jan. 28. The findings are the result of a joint inspection team of DTSC and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspectors on Jan. 20 and 21, and oversight activities on Dec. 12, 2014. The DTSC said the two-day evaluation of the operations is part of the agency's oversight of the facility and its review of Exide's application for a hazardous waste permit.

The agency said it has directed Exide to “protect public health by immediately stopping all violations.”

Within 10 days, the company also is required to submit documentation that the violations have ceased. Exide faces potential penalties and the possibility of additional enforcement actions for the violations, the DTSC said, and will face increased penalties if it fails to fully comply.

“These violations represent our commitment to the community that we will keep a close watch on Exide and ensure that the facility is in compliance with all pertinent laws,” DTSC Deputy Director Elise Rothschild said. “The company must correct these violations, and we will consider them, along with Exide's full enforcement history, when we make our permit decision.”

In addition to use of the unauthorized tanks and failure to sufficiently protect against spills, other alleged violations include:

• Improperly labeling and not closing containers holding hazardous waste;

• Lack of adequate secondary-containment system and engineer's certification for temporary tanks used to store waste; and

• Placing hazardous waste with liquids in a containment building without a functioning leak detection and collection system.

The Summary of Violations issued by the DTSC also noted that on Jan. 12 sodium hydroxide, a caustic liquid used by Exide in its recycling process, spilled. The liquid did not reach soil and did not go offsite, and was captured and disposed of in an appropriate facility. Because the caustic liquid was not a hazardous waste, the DTSC said it referred the spill to the City of Vernon, the local enforcement agency, for investigation.

The agency also notified Exide that the company must immediately take steps to ensure that rain cannot enter the building, after DTSC inspectors noted holes in the walls and ceiling of the building. Exide must also submit plans to permanently fix the holes.

Exide's Vernon facility recycles lead from used automotive batteries and other sources. Normally, the plant recycles about 22 million batteries annually, according to the DTSC, but the smelting operation has been closed since March 2014 because it could not meet new rules by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Exide is currently operating under an interim authorization from the DTSC and has applied to the agency for a full hazardous waste facility permit for storage and treatment of hazardous waste.

The DTSC said it will make a decision on that permit application by Dec. 31, 2015, as required by Senate Bill 712 (Lara).

To read the Summary of Violations filed against Exide, click here.