CA Auto Recyclers Brace for Tightened Regulations

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Friday, February 10, 2012

California Auto Recyclers Brace for Tightened Regulations 

By MATT SMITH

In Oakland and Redwood City, industrial shredders the size of department stores grind thousands of junked automobiles into fist-sized scraps, loading the lumps onto waiting ships to become fodder for a global recycling industry.

But as the “green steel” goes out to sea, the leftovers — pulverized seat cushions, insulation and grime, collectively known in the shredding industry as “auto fluff” — are trucked to regional landfills. There, buried in mountains of trash, the byproducts of long-dead cars begin a second, potentially toxic life that could loom as a hazard to environmental health.

Off the road, junk cars continue to pollute because of what some critics say is a decades-long failure by California to properly regulate the powerful automobile recycling industry. Millions of tons of potentially toxic refuse created by recyclers of cars and heavy home appliances in the Bay Area have been buried in municipal landfills, instead of being transported in specially designated trucks and placed in dumps for toxic materials — a mode of transport and disposal that can dramatically increase costs.

The recyclers are able to avoid the increased cost of toxic waste disposal because of a special exemption from state regulators.

“Populations have moved close to those landfills,” said Gale Filter, a former deputy director for enforcement at the Department of Toxic Substances Control, or D.T.S.C., under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “We have an industry that’s not keeping pace with huge concerns about human health and the environment.”

“The shredding business poses a risk to the environment, as well as to people’s health,” Mr. Filter said.

In 2010, auto shredders deposited 591,271 tons of waste in California landfills. At the same time, their massive shredders can spew tons of toxic dust into the air, putting nearby residents at risk, according to a study by the University of California, Davis, that was commissioned by the toxic substance control agency. The industry commissioned its own study, which concluded that toxic emissions detected near a Los Angeles area facility came from sources other than automobile shredding.

The Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, announced in January that it had ordered Sims Metal Management to comply with federal Clean Water Act laws after inspections that revealed evidence of unlawful discharges of mercury, lead, copper and zinc near San Francisco Bay, as well as banned carcinogens known as PCBs, which are found in older cars.

The company issued statements saying it was committed to a healthy environment, and expected the matter to be resolved to the E.P.A.’s satisfaction.

Meg Rosegay, a lawyer in San Francisco who represents the auto recycling industry, said that the fluff is safe, despite Mr. Filter’s comments. “I think the former director of enforcement is expressing his personal opinion, and perhaps the opinion of certain individuals on the department staff,” she said. “We have done significant testing on the material and have reached different determinations.”

State regulators have long been concerned about the environmental impact of auto recycling. But for 30 years, former state officials say, the industry has used its influence in Sacramento to thwart further environmental controls. Recently, with Gov. Jerry Brown’s appointment of a new Department of Toxic Substances Control chief, there are signs the situation could be about to change. But any new rules about the handling of auto fluff may come too late to deal with millions of tons of potentially toxic waste already buried in California landfills.