California Governor proposes $175 million cleanup plan for contamination from Former Exide Technologies facility

California Gov. Edmund G. Brown recently proposed a testing and cleanup plan to address properties impacted by Vernon, California’s, former Exide Technologies facility that would use a $176.6-million budget to hasten progress and expand the existing efforts.

"This Exide battery recycling facility has been a problem for a very long time," Brown said. "With this funding plan, we're opening a new chapter that will help protect the community and hold Exide responsible."

The site is located approximately five miles outside of downtown Los Angeles, and the facility is estimated to have deposited lead dust in an area covering 1.7 miles. The contamination has potentially impacted 10,000 properties. Emergency funding worth $7 million went toward an initial cleanup plan and urgent cleanup efforts, which saw 10,000 tons of contaminated soil removed from the area and 20,000 soil samples analysed.

“The administration is now proposing additional funding in the amount of $176.6 million from the Toxic Substances Control Account to test the remaining properties, schools, daycare centers, and parks in the 1.7 mile radius and remove contaminated soil at the properties that have the highest lead levels and greatest potential exposure to residents,” Department of Finance Director Michael Cohen said in a letter to the California State Senate and Assemby Budget and Appropriations Committee chairs. “In addition, the Department will conduct specialized tests and analyses to conclusively identify the source of the contamination and hold Exide — and any other responsible parties — accountable.”