“Back to the Future”

Oxnard’s Super Fund Site, Which Never Should Have Been.

Halaco Engineering Company, a metal recycling business, began operations in Los Angeles and Gardena in 1950. By 1965, like
a dead-beat brother in-law, they had over stayed their welcome. They were spewing noxious fumes into residential neighborhoods, creating soil and air contamination, and improperly handling radioactive waste. As a result, the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) refused to renew their permit. Other problems, as well, led to Halaco having to leave Gardena.

But Halaco need not have worried. The City of Oxnard put the welcome mat out for them.

It’s unclear whether Oxnard vetted Halaco beforehand and simply didn’t care, or never even bothered to investigate the company, before they lured them to our city.  But the information was out there for all to examine, i. e, it was public knowledge.

Halaco did business in Oxnard from 1965 to their chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004, after which they closed their doors for good and left. And what a massive toxic mess they left behind for Oxnard, for years to come.

There is a huge 700,000 cubic yard waste pile, towering over 40 feet high and covering some 26 acres in size, full of heavy metals and radioactive materials

A  portion of the waste pile left in Oxnard by Halaco. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara Channel Keeper

     

                 Photo from Flickr

A report on the soil contamination lists aluminum, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese , nickel, silver, and zinc. Radioactive materials include cesium-137, potassium-40, thorium-228, thorium-230, and thorium-232. The culmination of these wastes has led to the contamination of air, groundwater, and soil., nickel, silver, and zinc. Radioactive materials include cesium-137, potassium-40, thorium-228, thorium-230, and thorium-232. The culmination of these wastes has led to the contamination of air, groundwater, and soil.

Many organizations sued Halaco over the site, including state and local government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) ,as well. Curiously, the City of Oxnard did not step up to the plate and sue Halaco, even though they were the primarily affected entity. You have to ask why?

Note: This blogger attended an unrelated meeting in 2008 where an individual, in a position to know, statedthat orders were given from the city to Oxnard Code Enforcement personnel not to issue any citations to Halaco.

Also of note, the VC Star reported in 2007 that in 1996 Halaco was permitted to dump about 9,000 cubic yards of their toxic waste into the  Bailard landfill just west of North Oxnard. Their dumping was finally halted by the state. Since toxic and radioactive materials were found at Halaco’s waste site, it’s safe to assume that their waste, trucked to the landfill, also contained the same. The dump’s long term harmful affects for residents down wind is untested and unknown.

This blog post is not a definitive study of Oxnard’s super fund site, but rather a synopsis on how the decisions made by 5 elected city officials can have far-reaching consequences for our city. 

google Halaco Engineering for in-depth info. https://www.bing.com/search?q=halaco+engineering&pc=MOZI&form=MOZSPG

The unsightly buildings are gone now, taken down by the city, but the contamination remains,  likely for years or perhaps generations to come.

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff