Odor Complaints, Smoke Investigated : Parts Plant Accused of Pollution
A Van Nuys aerospace parts plant has been accused of violating air-pollution laws by the South Coast Air Quality Management District because of smoke observed wafting out of a chimney.
The Coastcast plant in the 16700 block of Stagg Street, near Balboa Boulevard, is also under investigation because of odor complaints, said Bill Kelley, an AQMD spokesman. Residents of a nearby trailer park complained to the district of noxious odors from the plant, which manufactures aerospace parts using a wax-cast process.
“We believe it is related to wax they use,” Kelly said of the odor. “When wax is not completely burned you can get some other things that form . . . that probably are not dangerous but may smell a little different than wax itself.”
Kelly said investigators may reach a conclusion about the nature of the odor by the end of the week.
No Record
The AQMD has no record of violations by Coastcast or by Rex Precision Products, its predecessor. Coastcast took over the plant in November.
The AQMD has not determined what penalties might be leveled against the plant for the smoke violation, which was observed during an inspection Tuesday, Kelly said.
Residents of Birmingham Trailer Court say they have suffered health problems ranging from peeling skin and headaches to irritated eyes and noses. They say they fear that the problems are related to the odor.
Last week they said they noticed a marked increase in the pungency of the odor--which some describe as a petroleum odor and others say is more like plastic burning.
“You wake up in the morning and you go outside and it’s nauseating,” said Barry Savo, who has lived in the Balboa Boulevard trailer park for seven years.
“I’m popping Tylenol like gum, but my headache still lingers,” said Sandy Ayola, a trailer park resident since 1985.
Week of Calls
Penny Newmark, spokeswoman for Residents Against Pollution, a San Fernando Valley environmental group, complained that it took nearly a week of telephone calls to various health agencies before the AQMD on Wednesday released the names of chemicals used at the plant.
Those records show that Coastcast uses chemicals including silicone, hydrochloric acid, isopropyl alcohol and a toxic solvent called 1,1,1-Trichloroethane.
Ted Rauch, manager of the Coastcast plant, said he has assigned a maintenance supervisor to monitor the factory at night.
About the odor, he said: “We’ve been looking into this since they first started complaining. What we’re determining is that we had a mild malfunction in one of our ovens, which has been corrected. . . . We’re very concerned about it, too, because we have a good-neighbor policy.”
