The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a legal agreement with the Battery Recycling Co. 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.
According to a news release frpm the EPA, the agreement requires the company to take immediate steps to address the environmental violations and to prevent releases of lead and other pollutants from the site. The company says it will invest more than $3 million in facility upgrades and will undertake three environmental projects to benefit the community, according to the EPA.
The EPA adds that the battery recycling firm also agreed to pay a $112,500 penalty for alleged violations of the hazardous waste law.
The EPA says its 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 Feb. 23, 2012, 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 about 60 tons of lead per day. Throughout 2010 and 2011, the EPA says it 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, the EPA says. Workers also have carried lead dust on their clothes and equipment into their cars and homes, putting their families and others at risk, the EPA asserts.
Under the agreement, Battery Recycling will completely enclose the lead recycling processing areas and run all emissions through dust collection systems, the EPA reports. The company also will 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, according to the EPA.
Battery Recycling also has agreed to fund the following local projects:
- Purchase of a vacuum sweeper vehicle to clean facility roadways of lead dust or other pollutants at an estimated cost of $180,000;
- Purchase special equipment to compress dust from collection storage bins into pellets for easier handling at an estimated cost of $150,000; and
- Provide assistance to local high schools in Puerto Rico to improve environmental education involving the safe handling and disposal of old chemicals at an estimated cost of $150,000.
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, the EPA says.
Battery Recycling is now also required to follow a standard operating procedure manual for continuously monitoring compliance with previous orders.