Suit Against Kwikset Alleges Toxic Emissions

An environmental watchdog group has accused lock maker Kwikset Corp. of failing to inform the public about carcinogenic chemical emissions at its Anaheim factory.

California Earth Corps, a Lakewood nonprofit organization, filed suit this week in Orange County Superior Court against Kwikset, a subsidiary of Black & Decker and the largest manufacturer of door locks and jambs in the United States. The suit alleges that the company violated state environmental codes by exposing nearby residents to toxic emissions without written notice.

The president of the environmental group said the Kwikset plant at 516 E. Santa Ana St. emits more of two hazardous chemicals from its plant--in the middle of a neighborhood of modest private homes and apartments a half mile from City Hall--than any factory in the state.

The two chemicals named in the complaint, hexavalent chromium and perchloroethylene, are metal-cleaning agents used in many dry cleaning operations as well as factories. But the levels of the two chemicals Earth Corps alleges waft over the neighborhood is 1,000 times what a neighborhood dry cleaner commonly emits.

Linda Biagione, vice president of environmental affairs at Black & Decker, said the company already has plans to stop using perchloroethylene in November, in favor of a nontoxic substance. Biagione said the company is discussing installing a new mechanism on cleaning tanks at the 1,400-employee plant to contain the emissions of hexavalent chromium.

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But Biagione said company studies have found no evidence that the factory’s use of either of the chemicals is harmful. She said the company is cutting use of the chemicals to save the money it now spends on reporting the use of the two chemicals under state law.

“We had a qualified consultant do a risk assessment on the emissions, and the consultant concluded that there was no risk to the environment and that warnings were not needed,” Biagione said.

“Black & Decker is a good, environmentally conscious company, and we have a program for all of our facilities of trying to reduce the amounts of chemicals that we use.”

Kwikset has never been cited for any substantial violation of health and safety codes by either the South Coast Air Quality Management District or the Environmental Protection Agency, officials at those agencies said.

But the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 requires companies to notify workers, residents and state authorities, by mail and published notices, about toxic emissions. The act permits citizens groups to file suit against companies that fail to do so.

Earth Corps President Don May said the environmental group first became aware of the toxic emissions while doing a routine check of reports filed with the state by Kwikset and hundreds of other companies. Later, the group commissioned its own study, hiring a consultant to test emission levels unbeknownst to Kwikset. The group also canvassed hundreds of people living within 13 blocks of the plant, and none said they knew about the chemical emissions.

The lawsuit seeks a reduction in the plant’s output of the two chemicals, better warnings to the public, and civil penalties.

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May praised Black & Decker for the steps the company says it plans to take to reduce the toxic emissions. But May said the environmental organization plans to pursue the lawsuit in court until the company implements the new technology.

“It’s taken over a year for them to come around to this point, but we think they have finally gotten the message that they need to end their exposures,” May said. “They certainly didn’t have any intention of doing this before we gave them notice of the litigation.”

On the streets near the factory, half a dozen residents said Tuesday they were unaware that toxic chemicals were used at the plant.

“I have six kids and a granddaughter, so it definitely makes me worry,” said Loretta Galindo, 34. “If there’s chemicals or something and it’s cancer-causing, that says it right there.”