Hazardous Materials Violations Alleged

A business that sells and services dishwashing machines has been charged with four misdemeanor counts stemming from allegations that it illegally transported hazardous materials, the city attorney said.

Lo-Car Enterprises Inc. was charged Wednesday with one count of transporting hazardous material in leaking packages, one count of failing to secure hazardous materials during transportation, and two counts of violating a state law that requires information about hazardous materials to be included in shipping papers, officials said.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Roy Jeppson, an attorney for Lo-Car, denied the allegations. Lo-Car transports commercial dishwashing and laundry detergents in a safe and legal manner, he said.

“It is absolutely untrue, unfounded and did not occur,” Jeppson said. “Lo-Car has always complied with all regulations concerning transporting and securing chemicals.”

The charges were filed after an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Environmental Crimes Unit stopped and inspected a Lo-Car truck in Chatsworth.

The officer said he “found containers of corrosives used in pool cleaning unsecured, with some of the containers tipped over on their side and others leaking,” according to City Atty. Jim Hahn’s office.

The officer also alleged that he found containers of hazardous materials that were not labeled and other containers labeled as containing hazardous materials when they did not, officials said.

The company is scheduled for arraignment Nov. 14 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.