The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking a closer look at a former battery recycling location in southern California after the state requested the site be added to the agency's superfund list.
California formally requested the former Exide battery recycling facility in Vernon and the surrounding residential and industrial area be added to EPA's Superfund National Priorities List, according to a July 1 EPA news release.
"EPA remains committed to protecting human health and the environment by reducing lead exposure, especially for children and communities with significant environmental justice concerns," EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said in the release. "Our agency continues to prioritize environmental justice for marginalized and overburdened communities across the nation and the creation of a more visible difference in the environmental and public health outcomes for all people. Our collaborations with the communities we serve, our governmental partners and interested stakeholders are key to achieving this."
Guzman noted the addition of the Exide area to the superfund list would provide access to federal funding to assist with the cleanup and will help the EPA identify responsible parties to fund the remediation, the release reported.
In the release, Guzman mentioned the EPA's draft Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities, which was released for public comment Oct. 28, 2021.
"The draft strategy lays out agency and governmentwide approaches to reduce exposures to lead sources, address legacy lead contamination for communities with the greatest exposures and seek to eliminate disparities in lead exposure along racial, ethnic and socioeconomic lines," Guzman added, according to the release.
