News Release from EPA Region 2 - Battery Recycling

EPA Reaches Agreement with Battery Recycling Company, Inc. of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

To Reduce Lead Pollution

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, 212-637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov; Brenda Reyes, 787-977-5869, reyes.brenda@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. - Feb. 23, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a legal agreement with the Battery Recycling Company, Inc. requiring it to take multiple actions to reduce the spread of lead contamination from its Arecibo, Puerto Rico facility. As part of an ongoing investigation of the facility, the EPA identified violations of federal regulations governing the proper handling of hazardous materials. The agreement announced today requires the company to take immediate steps to address the environmental violations and prevent releases of lead and other pollutants from the site. The company will invest more than $3 million in facility upgrades and will undertake three environmental projects to benefit the community. The Battery Recycling Company has agreed, at this time, to pay a $112,500 penalty for alleged violations of the hazardous waste law.

Lead is a toxic metal that can have serious, long-term health consequences for adults and children. Even at low levels, lead can cause I.Q. deficiencies, reading and learning disabilities, impaired hearing, reduced attention spans, hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in children.

“Lead is a dangerous toxin that can affect a child’s ability to learn. We need to do everything possible to protect the children of Arecibo from being exposed to lead. This agreement reached by the EPA and Arecibo Battery Recycling does just that. It will also help protect the health of the workers at the plant and all people living near the facility,” said Judith A. Enck, the EPA Regional Administrator.

The EPA inspections identified significant violations of federal air, water and hazardous waste regulations. The air and water violations were addressed in previous EPA orders issued to the company. The agreement announced today addresses the hazardous waste violations under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

The Battery Recycling Company, Inc. is a lead smelter that recycles used motor vehicle batteries and produces approximately 60 tons of lead per day. Throughout 2010 and 2011, the EPA conducted a series of inspections of the facility to determine its compliance with federal laws and regulations. The facility was found to generate lead-contaminated dust during battery processing, lead smelting and refining operations, and the storage and handling of waste. Workers have also carried lead dust on their clothes and equipment into their cars and homes, putting their families and others at risk.

Under the agreement announced today, Battery Recycling will completely enclose the lead recycling processing areas and run all emissions through dust collection systems. The company will also finish building a new dust collection system to capture lead dust within the work area. Trucks and automobiles leaving the facility will be washed and inspected to reduce the spread of lead dust. Facility roads will be paved and pavements will be cleaned, in many cases, at least twice each day.

Battery Recycling has also agreed to fund the following local projects:

• Purchase of a vacuum sweeper vehicle to clean facility roadways of lead dust or other pollutants. It will improve the collection of dust and dirt and the proper disposal of the waste. The project is estimated to cost a minimum of $180,000.

• Purchase special equipment to compress dust from collection storage bins into pellets for easier handling. The project is estimated to cost a minimum of $150,000

• Provide assistance to local high schools in Puerto Rico to improve environmental education involving the safe handling and disposal of old chemicals. The project is estimated to cost a minimum of $150,000

The order announced today is the latest in a series of actions the EPA has taken to protect people’s health and the environment in Arecibo. Under previous agreements with the EPA, Battery Recycling improved existing employee changing areas, installed a decontamination station for vehicles entering and leaving facility processing areas, and trained employees to ensure that “clean” and “dirty” lockers and changing areas are kept separate and used in a way that minimizes contamination between the areas. Battery Recycling is now also required to follow a standard operating procedure manual for continuously monitoring compliance with previous orders.

To learn more about EPA’s efforts to reduce lead risks, visit: http://www.epa.gov/lead.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

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$10 Million Settlement with Mining Company

News release from EPA Region 9:

For Immediate Release: Feb 16, 2012Media Contacts: Mary Simms, 415-947-4270, simms.mary@epa.gov, Rusty Harris-Bishop, 415-972-3140, harris-bishop.rusty@epa.govDept. of Justice: (202) 514-2007                    

    U.S. EPA, Dept. of Justice reach $10 Million settlement with Department of the Interior, Northern California mining company for cleanup costs and transfer of land to Elem Indian Colony

SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a multi-party agreement to settle cleanup costs for seven mining sites in three states. The parties to the agreement include the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bradley Mining Company, the Worthen Bradley Family Trust and the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians.

Under the settlement, the Bradley Mining Company and Bradley Trust will transfer nearly all of their land holdings at the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine to a new trust created to retain the lands pending EPA cleanup. The Elem Indian Colony will receive approximately 380 acres of uncontaminated land - adding to its current holdings of 50 acres - as compensation for natural resource damages from mining operations by the Bradley Mining Company.      


Nearly $7 million in federal funds will be used to reimburse EPA’s costs for cleaning up contamination at the Elem Indian Colony and the access road to the Colony.


“This significant settlement took three years to hammer out. The result is a win for Clear Lake and a win for the Elem Colony,” said Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator for EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “This settlement will help the Clear Lake ecosystem recover, including reducing the risks due to mercury in fish. It also demonstrates EPA’s strong commitment to supporting the environmental cleanup of tribal lands.”


In addition to the land transfers relating to the Sulphur Bank Mine, the proceeds from insurance policies and any future income from the Bradley Mining Company will be divided among the seven mine sites for future cleanup, with the Bradley Mining retaining a share of the proceeds.


The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund Site is located at the southeastern end of the Oaks Arm of Clear Lake. The site includes the Elem Indian Colony which is located directly adjacent to the mine property. The site initially was mined for sulfur from 1865 to 1871. Mercury ore was mined intermittently by underground methods from 1873 to 1905, and open-pit mined from 1915 to 1957. The mine, once one of the largest producers of mercury in California, has been inactive since 1957.


Approximately three million cubic yards of mine wastes and tailings remain on the mine site. Mercury is present in the bottom sediments in Clear Lake, and mercury has bio-concentrated in the food chain of Clear Lake. The levels of mercury in fish from the lake led the State to issue an advisory to limit consumption of fish. Clear Lake is the source of water that the Clear Lake Oaks Water District provides for municipal drinking water for 4,700 people.


This cleanup effort is one of several tribal land cleanups in the Pacific Southwest Region. EPA is currently overseeing the investigation and clean up of contamination on Hopi and Navajo lands throughout the southwest.


The settlement, lodged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy of the settlement document will be available on the Department of Justice website at: www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html


For more information please visit: www.epa.gov/region9/sulphurbankmercury

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Settlement to Require Eaton Corporation to Address TCE Contamination

News Release from EPA Region 7

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101 Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations Settlement to Require Eaton Corporation to Address TCE Contamination at Vehicle Group Plant in Kearney, Neb. Contact Information: Dave Bryan, 913-551-7433, bryan.david@epa.gov Environmental News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Kansas City, Kan., Jan. 12, 2012) - EPA Region 7 and the Eaton Corporation have reached a settlement through which the company has agreed to conduct certain activities to address trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination in groundwater at its Vehicle Group Plant and surrounding areas in Kearney, Neb. Eaton Corporation has owned the 57-acre site at 4200 Highway 30 East, in Kearney, since 1969. TCE was used as a degreasing agent in the manufacture of automotive and heavy-duty engine valves and gears at the site. TCE is a colorless liquid which is most commonly used as a solvent for cleaning metal parts. TCE is a known human carcinogen that has been found in concentrations in groundwater at and near the site that exceed the drinking water standard. According to an administrative order on consent, placed on public notice today by EPA in Kansas City, Kan., TCE contamination in groundwater at the Eaton Corporation Vehicle Group Plant site in Kearney was first detected in 1986, the result of an apparent leak from underground storage tank lines. Since that time, the company has installed and modified a series of systems to extract TCE from groundwater at the site, and monitoring wells to track its movement underground. Currently, Eaton Corporation operates two groundwater extraction systems – one on-site, another off-site – in an effort to contain the underground TCE plume. Contamination from the site has in the past impacted private drinking water supplies. EPA’s administrative order on consent requires Eaton to operate and maintain on-site and off-site groundwater extraction systems to contain and reduce TCE contamination in the groundwater at and coming from the site. Operation of the extraction systems will continue as long as needed to prevent significant contaminant plume migration. The order also would require Eaton Corporation to conduct a review of the remedy’s performance after five years, submit a remedy completion report to EPA, and maintain a series of institutional controls at the site. The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period. EPA will consider all comments received, and may modify or withdraw its consent to the settlement if comments disclose facts or considerations indicating the settlement is inappropriate, improper or inadequate. As provided by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, commenters may also request a public meeting to be held in the affected area. Copies of the proposed order will be available for public inspection at the Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Avenue, Kearney, Neb., 68847, and at the EPA Region 7 Records Center, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kan., 66101. A copy of the proposed settlement may also be obtained from the Regional Docket Clerk, EPA Region 7, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kan., 66101. Persons submitting comments should reference EPA Docket Number RCRA-07-2011-0024. # # #

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