City May Limit Location of Nickel-Plating Firms

Concerned about the high concentration of nickel-plating firms in the San Fernando Valley, a City Council panel asked Tuesday for a report on limiting their location near residential neighborhoods.

Councilman Hal Bernson, chairman of the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, said his recent appointment to the South Coast Air Quality Management District has helped educate him about the health hazards of fumes from nickel-plating companies.

Those companies are allowed in industrial zones in Los Angeles.

“It’s a concern that those are often next to residential areas,” Bernson said, adding that the panel asked city planners to look at prohibiting nickel-plating firms within specific distances of residential zones, even when they are in an industrial zone.

Bernson said chemicals used in the nickel-plating process are carcinogenic.

“This poses a definite health threat,” he said.