On Thursday, July 17, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson filed a joint civil lawsuit against Radius Recycling, formerly Schnitzer Steel Industries, for violations related to the massive two-day fire [1] at the company’s facility in West Oakland on August 9-10, 2023. It was the third big fire at Schnitzer Steel since 2018.
[2]In addition, the Air District finalized the operating permit for equipment that has eliminated hundreds of tons of air pollution and reduced cancer risk by 84 percent since 2022, as required by previous enforcement actions by the Air District and the District Attorney.
The civil action followed DA Dickson’s controversial earlier decision, on May 23, to dismiss criminal charges [4] against Radius Recycling for its role in the fire that spewed acrid, possibly toxic, smoke across the Bay Area. The DA said that decision was based on lacking sufficient evidence to prosecute criminal charges. The civil lawsuit and permit actions will now move forward.
“My office is committed to the enforcement of environmental laws that safeguard our community from air pollution and hold businesses accountable for their toxic emissions,” DA Dickson said. “This joint civil action seeks to bring Radius into compliance with existing law and regulations and require further protections to prevent future toxic air contaminants from impacting West Oakland.”
Air Quality Management District executive officer Dr. Philip Fine said, “Radius Recycling’s actions endangered the health and well-being of the West Oakland community, an area already burdened by decades of air pollution.” Fine said the lawsuit and permit action will hold polluters accountable and ensure “facilities like Radius operate in full compliance with air quality regulations and their permit requirements.”
The lawsuit seeks penalties against Radius Recycling for its negligence related to the August 9, 2023, fire that spewed acrid, possibly toxic smoke across the Bay Area, causing especially significant air quality impacts in West Oakland. Radius Recycling’s shredder was down at the time, but the company continued to accept more scrap until it ran out of space to store it, according to the Air Quality Management District. Radius then put the material in an area that was not equipped with water cannons to keep the material wet or heat-detection cameras to spot dangerous temperature increases—crucial fire-prevention measures required by the facility’s air permit.