Anaheim Delays Action on Auto Salvage Yard Pending New Toxic Tests

The Anaheim City Council on Tuesday postponed a hearing on whether to shut down an automobile salvage firm pending results of new tests for toxic PCBs in a 44,000-ton pile of residue stored on its property.

The council voted 4 to 1 to schedule a hearing on the fate of the salvage yard for Sept. 2, when state health officials will provide results of tests conducted last month to determine the levels of the suspected carcinogen in the growing mountain of shredded auto waste.

Councilman Irv Pickler dissented, arguing that the salvage yard should be closed immediately to prevent more stockpiling of the residue, which has been collecting at the rate of about 2,000 tons a month since mid-1984. Salvage firm owner George Adams Jr. was notified in February that he was storing hazardous waste without a permit in violation of state law.

State Threshold

The central issue, however, is whether the level of PCBs in the waste pile reaches or exceeds the state maximum of 50 parts per million for solid waste.

If it exceeds the threshold, the waste pile must be hauled to one of a diminishing number of Class I dumps for hazardous waste at a cost state officials have estimated at between $12 million and $25 million. If the average level of samples considered representative of the pile is below 50 ppm, less stringent and costly disposal methods could be considered.

Adams has threatened to “walk away” from the shredded remains of car seats, carpets and dashboards, known in the salvage industry as “fluff,” if he has to dispose of it at a Class I facility.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, cause cancer in rats and mice and are a suspected human carcinogen. PCBs were widely used as insulation for electrical transformers and hydraulic systems until their manufacture was discontinued in 1976. Slow to break down in nature, they are considered highly toxic and their disposal is strictly regulated.

Adams has said his independent tests show levels well below the state threshold. But earlier tests by the state Department of Health Services show that seven of 10 samples taken in January exceeded 50 ppm.

Extra Samples Taken

State health services spokesman James McNally said more than 20 extra samples were taken last month to provide a “statistically significant number of samples” that would reflect the amount of PCBs in the waste pile. Laboratory results were expected late next week, he said.

Depending on the levels revealed by the tests, the City Council could find the salvage yard operation and the waste pile a hazard to public health and order Adams to cease operations. But technically, even without PCBs, shredder waste is classified as marginally hazardous because of high levels of lead and other metals found in the residue. Under state law it is illegal to store hazardous waste for more than 90 days without a permit. Enforcement action for that infraction is being considered.

Adams has been trying to waive the hazardous designation in order to resume disposing the fluff in ordinary municipal landfills, so far without success.

On Sept. 2, the council also will consider whether Adams has violated his use permit for the facility by allegedly failing to landscape the property and committing numerous other infractions.