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A battery recycling plant in southeast Los Angeles County is one step
closer to becoming a Superfund site after the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency determined it contains enough hazardous waste to qualify
and California officials welcomed federal assistance.

For nearly a century, the former Exide Technologies plant in Vernon melted
down lead-acid car batteries, leaving as many as 10,000 properties coated
in brain-damaging lead dust, according to state environmental regulators.

Since the facility declared bankruptcy, California has dedicated $750
million and overseen the cleanup of more than 5,000 lead-contaminated properties surrounding the Exide site. But, over the last two years, a coalition of federal and state lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Alex
Padilla and the late Dianne Feinstein, have called for a Superfund
designation in hopes that it might bring in federal funding that could
help expedite the cleanup or potentially expand its scope.

An EPA report published last week concluded that the Exide site and
surrounding communities meet the criteria to be a Superfund site — not for lead, but due to the presence of another toxic chemical.

The Exide facility also released trichloroethylene (TCE) — a known human carcinogen — into the soil, according to the EPA report. For decades, the highly mobile chemical has migrated deeper into the groundwater table and
into local aquifers tapped for drinking water.

The Exide facility stands on the brink of Superfund status as Yana Garcia, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, sent a letter
to the federal EPA expressing support for a Superfund declaration on
behalf of Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration.

Read more: Do you live near the old Exide lead-acid battery smelter? Check
your property's cleanup status

Exide is one of several industrial facilities that have contributed to extensive groundwater contamination in southeast L.A. County, which has
levels of TCE above federally established health limits at several
drinking water wells. Although Exide's groundwater monitoring had shown elevated TCE levels since the 1980s, there had been no action to remove or contain the chemical plume until recently.

"While California has been cleaning up the area for many years, impacts
from the operations continue to negatively affect public health," Garcia
said in the letter. "Listing the former Exide facility and surrounding
areas would bring critical federal resources and expertise to help address toxic levels of lead where Californians work, live, and play."

Exide stored TCE in a large open vat and used the chemical as a cooling
agent to shape molten metal into bars. Historically, TCE was released near
the southern portion of Exide's Vernon complex. It has seeped into the Exposition aquifer and is believed to be migrating southwest.

Environmental advocates fear that the contamination will seep deeper and
affect interconnected aquifers.

Read more: Water recycling gets a boost in Southern California with new
federal funding

At least 52 groundwater wells serving 300,000 people are within four miles
of the Exide site. Several groundwater wells have TCE levels higher than federal drinking water quality limits. The highest readings have been
found at a well, near Converse and Gage avenues in unincorporated Florence-Firestone, where water contained 140 micrograms of TCE per liter
— 28 times higher than federal drinking water limit.

This has forced water providers, including Golden State Water Co., to
dilute contaminated groundwater with surface water or install expensive
water treatment systems to remove TCE.

“Our customers don’t have to think twice about the quality of drinking
water coming from their taps,” said Dawn White, a water quality manager
with Golden State Water Co. “While the EPA report was not shared with
Golden State Water, it is common for TCE or other contaminants to be found
in water sources throughout California. When they are detected, water is treated to meet federal and state water drinking standards before being delivered to customers.”

In shallow groundwater, TCE can reemerge as a vapor. The EPA report found vapors on the Exide grounds, although the building hasn't been occupied
since 2014. Two nearby sites may also be responsible for their own TCE
plumes.

Read more: California's biggest environmental cleanup leaves lead
contamination and frustration

Although water contamination was the basis for the EPA's Superfund qualification, environmental advocates say they still want federal money
to go toward removing lead contamination. Testing by USC has shown high
levels of lead contamination beyond the 1.7-mile Exide cleanup zone that
the state is working on.

"It's clear there are major issues with groundwater that must be
addressed," said Jane Williams, executive director of California
Communities Against Toxics. "But the soil contamination clearly extends
outside the preliminary assessment area, and someone needs to go look
there. We cannot abandon those people."

Padilla said in a statement that he has asked the EPA to move forward with
the Superfund designation and a "long overdue cleanup."

“The completion of the inspection report is a step in the right direction
in achieving justice for the Southeast L.A. communities that have suffered
the devastating consequences of Exide Technologies illegally dumping lead
and other hazardous contaminants into the ground and water supply," he
said.

An organizer with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, mark!
Lopez, said the EPA should fund the cleanup of rail yards, which have not
been cleaned and may be heavily contaminated with lead.

"The massive rail yards are where the federal government should be coming
in because that's where we're going to find the highest levels of lead,"
Lopez said, noting their proximity to the Exide plant and to homes. "Every
time the wind blows, it's recontaminating our communities. And they have particular authority around rail that the state doesn't."

https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-07-11/la-county-battery- recycler-on-the-verge-of-becoming-california-next-superfund-site

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