Closed Firm, Owner Charged in Acid Leaks

A closed Kearny Mesa electronics company and its owner were charged Friday with violating state hazardous-waste laws, and state health officials recommended a $244,000 fine.

Dibble Electronics, which state officials said went out of business in October, and owner David Ray Dibble were charged with 15 counts of hazardous-waste violations stemming from numerous acid leaks, said Allan Hirsch, spokesman for the state Department of Health Services.

Also charged was Ruffin Rental Properties, owner of the property where the facility was situated at 3670 Ruffin Road.

The landlord was included in the complaint and fine proposed by state officials.

Messages left with Dibble’s answering service went unanswered Friday. Attempts to reach Dibble at Ruffin Rental Properties, where Dibble is a general partner, were also unsuccessful when the phone went unanswered.

According to Hirsch, Dibble Electronics manufactured circuit boards from 1978 until it went out of business last October.

Acid was discovered leaking from a tank when county inspectors inspected the facility in January, 1990, Hirsch said. County health officials reported the suspected violations to the state.

When state inspectors reviewed the site on Sept. 19, 1990, they discovered that the alleged violations had not been corrected, Hirsch said.

The company reportedly went out of business the following month, he added.

State officials said no injuries were reported because of the acid leaks and other alleged violations.

Dibble and the two companies have also been charged with failure to label hazardous waste containers, failure to train employees in hazardous-waste management, keeping inadequate emergency equipment at the facility, failure to carry liability insurance and other violations.

The three parties will have 10 days to respond to the charges, and there is a possibility that the proposed fine could be reduced, Hirsch said.