Jurors were told a metal recycler, under fire for years by environmentalists and government regulators, released noxious fumes in violation of air pollution laws.
Prosecutors in Oxnard, Calif., filed three misdemeanor counts against Halaco Engineering Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection last year amid state and federal lawsuits alleging that its Ormond Beach recycling operation has released toxic materials.
If convicted, the company faces $25,000 or more in fines.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Mitchell Disney told jurors that Halaco put profits before people earlier this year when it allowed noxious smoke to drift out of its plant and over nearby businesses.
An Oxnard city employee saw the Jan. 8 plume and filed a complaint with the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, which led to the criminal charges.
"He could taste the metal as the smoke drifted from every nook and cranny of this building," Disney said.
The prosecutor said Halaco didn't follow permit requirements designed to keep harmful smoke from drifting into the environment.
Halaco attorney Ronald DiNicola told jurors there was no permit violation. Employees shut down the plant's air filter system on Jan. 8 to clean it and a worker forgot to close an air-filtering lid on a piece of machinery, the lawyer said.
He insisted the mistake doesn't warrant a conviction.
The Halaco plant takes aluminum and magnesium scrap metal, melts it down and recycles it, then sells it to other companies, such as soda bottlers and car companies. It employs about two dozen workers on a 43-acre site. Associated PressLatest from Recycling Today
- Nucor names new president
- DOE rare earths funding is open to recyclers
- Design for Recycling Resolution introduced
- PetStar PET recycling plant expands
- Iron Bull addresses scrap handling needs with custom hoppers
- REgroup, CP Group to build advanced MRF in Nova Scotia
- Oregon county expands options for hard-to-recycling items
- Flexible plastic packaging initiative launches in Canada
