Hauler Arrested on Charges of Illegal Storage of Toxic Wastes

A Wilmington businessman, who state officials contend operated one of the largest illegal hazardous waste stations in Southern California, was arrested Monday on 24 counts of violating state health and safety laws.

Ted A. Hammett, president and owner of Ted A. Hammett Vacuum Truck Service Inc. in Wilmington, was released on $100,000 bail after his arrest on charges of operating a hazardous waste facility without a state permit.

In a complaint filed by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office Friday, Hammett and his company were accused of 23 counts of illegal storage of flammable hazardous waste and one count of unlawful waste disposal on company property.

If convicted, Hammett could face imprisonment and fines of up to $625,000. His company also could be assessed up to $625,000 in fines.

Informant’s Tip

A 10-month-long investigation that led to the arrest--involving the FBI, the state Department of Health Services, the Police Department, the city Sanitation Bureau and the district attorney’s office--was spurred by an informant’s tip that the company was involved in illegal storage and disposal of hazardous wastes.

Investigators subsequently uncovered what they called a “massive” hazardous waste storage and transfer operation nestled in the industrial side streets of Wilmington. It included 19 tanks with a capacity of more than 100,000 gallons where the wastes were stored, said James McNally, manager of inspections and investigations for the toxic substances control division of the state health agency.

The company had been issued a state permit to haul hazardous waste from industries that generate it to state-approved disposal sites, but was not allowed to transfer the contaminants from trucks or store them in tanks.

According to the complaint, the company pumped the waste out of trucks into large storage tanks located throughout its yard. Health officials say they do not know where most of the wastes came from or ended up because Hammett did not keep sufficient records.

“His was the largest illegal hazardous-waste transfer station I’ve ever run across,” McNally said. “He had no quality control, no chemist, no permits, no emergency plan--it was impossible to tell what he was mixing with what. I felt it posed a threat to his workers, the nearby businesses and the residents who live in that area.

“It’s one thing to find a guy who illegally hauls used oil, but this operation was immense. . . . We ordered Hammett to stop the operation three times before he did.” McNally said Hammett began a cleanup last month.

In an interview Monday, Hammett said he was not aware that he needed a permit to store the hazardous waste. Hammett denied that hazardous waste was dumped on his company’s property. The 10-year-old company employs about 25 people, he said.

“They have me charged on things that aren’t true,” Hammett said. “We didn’t put nothing in the ground. . . . I did have storage tanks in my yard, but I didn’t know we had to have a permit at that time. When they came in, we shut it all down in December. I haven’t used it since then.”