The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached an agreement with The Battery Recycling Co. Inc., Arecibo, Puerto Rico, on several health and safety procedures. One aspect of the agreement is designed to prevent lead contamination from leaving the company’s facility on the work clothes and vehicles of employees and another involves the cleanup an adjacent property.
The Battery Recycling Co. recycles end-of-life lead-acid batteries and produces about 27,000 metric tons of secondary lead annually. On its website, it bills itself as “the only secondary lead smelter in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.”
The EPA action follows tests on about 150 children who may have been exposed to lead from the facility, with 20 percent having lead in their blood above levels considered problematic, according to the EPA.
The company has agreed to install a temporary decontamination station for vehicles entering and leaving facility processing areas. Battery Recycling Co. also will clean lead-contaminated vehicles and homes of current and former employees, and the EPA will take samples after the cleaning to help ensure the lead has been removed.
In addition, Battery Recycling Co. has agreed to excavate and remove lead-contaminated soil from a cattle pasture adjacent to the facility; backfill or restore the land; and dispose of any contaminated materials at a licensed disposal facility.