Prosecutors presented evidence of a string of ten explosions – including one caught on video by a firefighter – to the Alameda County grand jury that ultimately indicted operators of a West Oakland metal recycling facility on hazardous waste charges related to a fire there last year, NBC Bay Area’s investigative unit has learned.
NBC Bay Area obtained the video taken by a firefighter on the scene under the state’s Public Records Act.
The fire – which burned over two days in August of last year -- tore through a pile of scrap metal in the Radius Inc. facility, formerly known as Schnitzer Steel.
“We always ask, well, how is it that a giant pile of metal catches fire?” said West Oakland resident and environmental activist Brian Beveridge. He lives near the recycling plant and co-founded the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project to track pollution in the industrial area.
Beveridge says that Radius is “a $3 billion company – they should actually know what the heck is going on with a pile of scrap metal.”
In fact, prosecutors allege that in the days before the fire, Radius kept taking in wrecked cars – that can contain hazardous materials – even after its giant steel shredder broke down. Prosecutors say the partly processed wrecks were stored in a remote, unprotected area where the fire later started.
The grand jury indictment alleges that despite being told to preserve burned remains – that prosecutors say had been flagged as possible evidence -- managers ordered the material shredded.
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The video shows an explosion that prosecutors suggest was caused by hazardous materials, possibly magnesium used in engine blocks, that were being kept in a pile designated for harmless scrap metal.
“We never saw anything explode like that,” one of the firefighters who responded to the fire testified to the grand jury. Crews testified they saw ten explosions in a single day. A Radius official testified, however, that the blast was due to a reaction of non-hazardous metals being doused with water.
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“Nobody seems to have a solution to fires,” said Beveridge, whose group has long been critical of the plant.
He said that if prosecutors are right about hazardous materials being kept in an unprotected area after the shredder failed at Radius, it would be a “demonstration of their priorities - process, profits are more important than toxic fires.”
Radius’ attorney issued a statement after the charges, denying the facility stores or treats hazardous waste. “We are fully confident that the company’s actions will be proven to have prioritized public safety and compliance with the law,” the statement reads.
While acknowledging that some remains were shredded after the fire, the statement says that it was done as a safety precaution and only after authorities had the opportunity to examine and test the material.
Although the indictments against the company and two managers were unsealed in July, there have been no formal pleas to the felony and misdemeanor allegations that could result in millions of dollars in fines.
