Cases / Liability shifting (spin-offs, bankruptcy, closure bonds) · United States · 2020
Exide's Vernon lead smelter abandoned in bankruptcy, leaving California to pay for cleanup
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Battery recycler Exide left its Vernon, California, lead smelter through bankruptcy in 2020. The state has spent $260 million on the cleanup, and a further $390 million is reported as needed.
What?
Exide abandoned its Vernon battery recycling plant through bankruptcy, and the state of California has paid for the cleanup. ABC7
Where?
Vernon, California, United States ABC7
When?
Bankruptcy and abandonment in 2020 ABC7
Who?
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The plant was abandoned through bankruptcy and the cleanup passed to the state. ABC7
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
ABC7 reported that Exide was allowed to abandon its Vernon battery recycling plant in bankruptcy, leaving taxpayers to pay for the cleanup.
ABC7 reported that the state had spent $260 million on the cleanup, and that a further $390 million was needed.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: 31 of 50 nearby homes were not cleaned.
- None on record No verified source describes residents' exposure or health effects.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not give the outcome of an appeal in the Exide case.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not include the state toxic substances regulator's Exide document.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers