"Department of Toxic Substances Control sets urgent deadline for battery recycler, saying rains could wash lead and other metals into Los Angeles River."
"The state Department of Toxic Substances Control has issued an emergency order directing a Vernon battery recycler to clean up lead and other metals that have been deposited near the Exide Technologies plant.
In a letter released Wednesday, the agency said dust and soil samples with metals in concentrations at or near hazardous waste levels have been found near the facility and must be cleaned up by Jan. 31. The order is urgent, the agency wrote, because winter rains could wash the metals into the Los Angeles River.
'DTSC considers the elevated concentrations of lead and other contaminants … an immediate threat to human health and the environment (i.e. the Los Angeles River),' regulators wrote to Exide, one of the world's largest battery recyclers. Exide has until Dec. 31 to come up with a work plan."
Jessica Garrison reports for the Los Angeles Times December 18, 2013.
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