Could Allow Disposal in Ordinary Landfills : Governor Signs Car Shredder Waste Bill

Gov. George Deukmejian signed a bill Tuesday that could allow thousands of tons of automobile shredder waste to be dumped into ordinary municipal landfills.

But the signing of the measure, which was sponsored by Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), is not expected to end an intense environmental debate over the marginally hazardous waste product called “fluff.”

Bergeson’s bill neither forces landfill operators to accept the metal-laden dust nor weakens the authority of regional water quality officials to require special handling of it.

Auto shredders, seeking an economical means of disposing of the material, said the new law may not accomplish their goal.

“I’m going to do everything I can to get rid of my trash,” said George Adams, owner of Orange County Steel Salvage Inc. of Anaheim, where more than 30,000 tons of the shredder waste is stockpiled.

“If the bill doesn’t work . . . I think we’ll be back before the Legislature again in January,” Adams added.

Bergeson’s bill, which was sponsored by the Orange County Board of Supervisors, originally was drafted to help the shredding industry. But shredders’ support for it waned and environmentalists became enthusiastic supporters after Bergeson added amendments to prevent potential ground-water contamination.

Two Los Angeles County shredding firms urged Deukmejian to veto the measure. Because tests have shown the waste to contain slightly higher than acceptable levels of the contaminant lead oxide, shredder waste has been officially classified as hazardous since 1982.

State health officials have begun to question the classification and now say the material should be allowed in Class III landfills intended for ordinary household garbage.

Regional water quality officials in Southern California, however, still say special safeguards are needed because of the quantity of lead and other metals in the fine dust.

The largest of the state’s eight shredders, the Hugo Neu-Proler Co., claims it has perfected a chemical process to neutralize the material’s lead content and make it nonhazardous under existing standards.