Nearly 6,500 Homes Cleared in Exide Lead Cleanup in Southeast Los Angeles; All Schools, Parks and Childcare Centers Done
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on November 6 that the cleanup of lead-contaminated soil around the former Exide battery recycling facility in Vernon, a city in Los Angeles County, California, has reached a major milestone: as of October 23, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has cleaned 6,495 residential parcels and 7,818 parkways, and has finished cleanup at every school, park, and childcare center identified in the affected area.
The completed work covers 6,495 residential parcels — about 80 percent of the roughly 8,000 eligible properties where owners have granted access — all 7,818 eligible parkways along sidewalks and roads in the surrounding Southeast Los Angeles communities, 12 schools, 68 childcare centers, and 5 parks. Residential cleanup remains ongoing, with additional properties underway.
"Every school, park, and childcare center in the affected area has been cleaned, and nearly 6,500 homes have been made safer. That is real progress for communities that waited far too long for justice. California will keep fighting to do right by the families of Southeast Los Angeles," Governor Newsom said.
Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia said clean air, soil and water should be basic rights, and that the administration's investments mean nearly 6,500 families have cleaner properties and safer childcare centers, schools and parks. DTSC Director Katherine Butler said every home cleaned brings communities closer to the safe, healthy future they deserve after decades of industrial pollution, and that California remains steadfast in completing the cleanup thoroughly, safely, and with full transparency.
According to the Governor's Office, California has invested more than $700 million since 2016 to clean lead-contaminated soil near the former Exide plant, and Governor Newsom has invested more than $500 million in what the state calls one of the largest residential lead cleanups in U.S. history.
The former Exide facility in Vernon, located five miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, operated for decades recycling lead-acid batteries. In 2002, DTSC required Exide to investigate and clean up releases from its operations. In 2014, testing revealed elevated lead levels in nearby residential soil. In 2015, DTSC ordered Exide to withdraw a pending permit to operate, effectively closing the facility. When a federal bankruptcy court later allowed Exide to abandon the site, Governor Newsom condemned the decision and said California would continue fighting to hold Exide and its creditors accountable. The state has also requested that the former Exide facility be added to the federal Superfund National Priorities List, which would bring additional federal resources to the cleanup.
The cleanup is guided by comprehensive soil sampling: DTSC has sampled 10,028 parcels to determine cleanup priority, identified 9,016 parcels as eligible for further remediation based on a soil lead concentration greater than 80 parts per million and/or a single sample greater than 1,000 ppm, and conducted verification and retrospective sampling on 623 properties. DTSC has also launched an Exide Cleanup Feedback Management System for residents to track progress and share feedback, and since 2017 has enrolled more than 120 community members in its Workforce Environmental Restoration in Communities program, with more than 70 graduates going on to work on the cleanup in their own neighborhoods.
Source: Office of the Governor of California
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Vernon 的原 Exide 电池回收厂厂区，冶炼车间在全封闭单元内拆除，以防铅尘外逸。照片：美国环境保护署（EPA），公共领域。 / Photo: The former Exide battery recycling facility in Vernon, its smelter building being taken down inside a full enclosure unit to keep lead dust from escaping. Photo: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), public domain.
