Environmentally Good Deed Costs a Heap of Trouble

One day last month, Ruth Carson was in the garage going through some of her late husband’s old things when she came across two sealed glass bottles with crystals in them. Probably just some leftover solutions that Don had used to develop his pictures, she figured.

Still, just to be on the environmentally safe side, Carson took the 2-ounce bottles to the Police Department and deposited them with the receptionist at the information window.

The 75-year-old great-grandmother was feeling pretty good about having done her civic duty, until last Friday.

That’s when she got a bill for $3,040.49--courtesy of the Orange County Hazardous Materials Authority. The invoice for disposal of the bottles stated that Carson would have to pay up within 14 days.

“I thought it had to be some kind of a mistake so I got right on the phone,” Carson said in an interview Thursday. “I told them I’m a widow living on a fixed income and I don’t think it’s right. They said: ‘Well, if you don’t pay it in 14 days you will have to go to court.’ ”

Officials at the hazardous materials agency acknowledged Thursday that the bill is steep. However, they said it reflects the costs of sending a HAZMAT team to the Police Department to respond to the May 6 incident.

The base fee is $560 per hour for analysis. Cleanup itself can soar to $3,000 an hour.

“The fees are expensive, there is no way to deny that,” said Lt. Bob Hurst, supervisor of administration for the hazardous materials agency, which is made up of several Orange County cities. The cost depends, he said, on the type of emergency and how long it takes to contain.

Hurst said HAZMAT officials eventually determined that the unknown substances were just what Carson had surmised: chemicals for developing film. They simply dissolved the crystals in water.

But had Carson known better, she could have probably gotten rid of the bottles for free at any of three designated household waste disposal sites for Orange County residents.

The sites in Anaheim, Huntington Beach and San Juan Capistrano routinely accept old paint thinner, antifreeze, motor oil and forms of toxic household waste. Generally, substances must still be in their original containers. But even if they are not, hazardous materials experts at the sites can decide to accept some things on a case-by-case basis, officials said.

Carson, however, did not know that. And she said no one at the Orange Police Department told her, or hinted at the expense that could follow. Nor did she ever dream that she would be charged for having brought in the bottles.

“They never told me anything,” Carson said. “Here I thought I was being a good citizen and they billed me $3,040.”

“How many people are going to bring in any waste at all if know they are going to get billed $3,000 for it?” she said. “On one hand, they want you to bring it in, then on the other, they want to punish you for it.”

Carson’s saga began when she discovered the chemical-filled spice bottles, which since they were mixed in with some of her husband’s old college yearbooks, she figured they had to be at least 50 years old.

Not knowing what else to do, she packed the bottles in a sack and took them to the police station. There, a civilian receptionist who did not realize that the chemicals could be potentially dangerous, took the bottles from Carson, wrote down her name and sent her on her way.

Neither could have guessed the stir Carson’s visit would cause at the Police Department.

About 10 minutes later, a watch commander spotted the bottles near the information desk, grew suspicious of their contents and told the receptionist to call the Fire Department, officials said.

They, in turn, sent for a four-person hazardous materials team, who, fearing that the substance might be explosive, called for the Orange County bomb squad.

Within minutes, dozen of police employees had been evacuated from the lobby and surrounding areas, said Lt. Trey Sirks, a department spokesman.

“One of the basic things they teach us at the academy is if something looks suspicious, to call authorities and not to mess with it,” Sirks said. “So that’s what we did. We called the experts.”

Sirks said the police did not know that Carson had been billed for the incident until last week.

“We feel very bad about it and we hope that it gets rectified soon,” he said.

Fire and HAZMAT officials said the situation is unfortunate and probably could have been avoided had Carson dialed the county’s emergency hot line instead of coming into the police station.

“I just wish she had called the county first and gotten the right information,” said Emmy Day, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Department. “I’m sure she wishes she had too.”

Carson, meanwhile, can still apply to the agency’s advisory board for a hearing on the bill.

For his part, Hurst believes the matter will ultimately be resolved in Carson’s favor.

“I think this will go away,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t our intent to go out and beat up on a 75-year-old grandmother.”

Times correspondent Mary Anne Perez contributed to this report.

Fee-Free Disposal

Orange County residents can dispose of household waste products at these locations free of charge. Call (714) 665-6970 for hours of operation and acceptable substances: Anaheim: 1131 Blue Gum St. Huntington Beach: 17121 Nichols St. San Juan Capistrano: Prima Deshecha landfill off Ortega Highway, near La Pata Avenue Source: Orange County Fire Department