Local News in Brief : Northridge Factory May Lose Waste Permit
A Northridge factory accused of illegally storing and disposing hazardous waste may lose its industrial-waste disposal permit unless it brings its chemical discharge into compliance with city regulations, a city official said Monday.
Lai Circuits Inc., a circuit-board manufacturing company, was raided by a multi-agency task force Thursday. The Bureau of Sanitation cited the company on allegations of dumping high levels of heavy metals and acids into city sewers, the city attorney’s office announced last week.
At a hearing Jan. 8 before the Board of Public Works, Lai Circuits Inc. must show that it has implemented, or is devising, a waste pre-treatment program to correct the problem, said Sterling Buesch, assistant director of the Bureau of Sanitation.
Otherwise, the board has the option of “severing the sewer,” meaning it would plug up the company’s access to the municipal sewage system, Buesch said.
San Lai, owner of Lai Circuits Inc., could not be reached for comment.
City Atty. James K. Hahn said last week that his office is examining evidence seized in the raid to determine whether criminal charges also will be brought against the company.
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