EPA cleanup of magnesium fire site is underway
Hazardous debris removal in Maywood could cost $3 million.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a cleanup this week of the Maywood metal yard that burned in June, part of a two-month waste removal project at the closed site.
The EPA warned that clearing out hazardous debris may send noxious odors into nearby neighborhoods, an irritating reminder of a fire that displaced hundreds of residents and revived fears about the proximity of industrial sites to homes in southeast Los Angeles County.
Early June 14, flames tore through scrap metal recycler Panda International Trading Co. and a precious metals recycler operating on a portion of the company’s Fruitland Avenue property, Sokor Metals.
Investigators said at the time that about 10,000 pounds of magnesium fed the fire, which stubbornly burned for more than a day. Firefighters struggled to
contain the flames because water would trigger explosions with magnesium.
The fire forced about 300 people to be evacuated from nearby homes and businesses.
At least 43 homes had to be cleaned up before residents returned, according to county health officials.
Investigators have not said what started the fire. No charges have been filed in connection with the blaze.
Shortly after the fire, L.A. County Sheriff’s Sgt. Derek Yoshino wrote that the circumstances surrounding the fire were suspicious because of a recent environmental inquiry into one of the businesses at the site.
Sokor Metals was cited a week before the fire for alleged hazardous waste violations, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed in L.A. County Superior Court.
Sokor Metals owner Ashoor Koriel said electrical equipment near the property sparked the fire. “I was not operating when the fire occurred, and none of the chemicals I was using were flammable,” he said in a statement.
Sal Coco, the attorney for Da Xiong Pan, who operated Panda International Trading Co. and owns the property, also denied that his client’s business caused the fire.
The federal cleanup, which could cost as much as $3 million, comes nearly a month after Panda International Trading Co. and Pan pleaded guilty to felony charges that they unlawfully disposed of hazardous waste at the site.
The charges stemmed from inspections conducted in 2013. Investigators found that toxic levels of metal particulates had been released in front of the company’s facility.
On Sept. 14, Pan pleaded guilty to five felony counts. The company pleaded guilty to one felony count. A judge sentenced Pan to 16 months in prison, which was reduced to one day in jail and 1,000 hours of community service.
Coco, Pan’s defense attorney, acknowledged that his client committed the waste violations but did so out of ignorance of the proper procedures.
“I don’t think he understood the rules and regulations,” Coco said. “He should have had some professional help.”