LA County Supervisors File Lawsuit Against Polluting Recycling Plant

Exide Technologies in Vernon, Calif. has been closed since March over concerns about its emissions. Today, L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina says the government needs to do more to punish the battery recycling company for contaminating the neighborhood with arsenic and lead. 

Molina also says that the $9 million that Exide agreed to pay to the contaminated neighborhoods as part of its deal with the Department of Toxic Substances Control is not enough. "We don't even think it's enough money to begin the cleanup, and we don't know how much the contamination is," she said. 

On a similar note, residents complain about how Exide and the DTSC has kept them in the dark about how contaminated the neighborhood is and the host of effects that have occurred as a consequence. "We have so many illnesses that we don't know what's causing these illnesses," said Roberto Cabrales. "And it's difficult for us to prove that our illnesses are related to one specific industry."

While Exide and DTSC won't be forthcoming about what's going on with their testing and their cleanup, resident and activist Dolorez Mejia is very clear about what they should do. "Toxic test every single public space, which includes every school, every clinic, every playground, every daycare center, every senior center, every city hall and also, develop a protocol that would require notification to be posted in every single public space."

Exide has not responded to repeated requests for comment. Supervisors expect a report on their legal options next week.