A 2023 fire at a metal shredding facility in West Oakland revealed deep regulatory failures that left nearby communities vulnerable to toxic pollution and decades of avoidable health risks.
Molly Peterson reports for Public Health Watch.
In short:
- The Oakland-based Schnitzer Steel, now Radius Recycling, is facing criminal charges after a massive fire in August 2023 sent toxic smoke across the Bay Area and raised alarm about weak oversight of California’s metal shredding industry.
- Regulators failed to enforce hazardous waste laws for decades, creating loopholes that allowed dangerous byproducts — like highly flammable, toxic “fluff” — to be dumped in ordinary landfills or drift into nearby neighborhoods.
- Despite multiple fires, high levels of airborne metals, and community health complaints, enforcement by agencies like the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has been sporadic and ineffective.
Key quote:
“The thing that jumped out at me, that was the most concerning, was the level of lead.”
— Anne Kelsey Lamb of the Oakland-based Public Health Institute
Why this matters:
Metal shredding operations, like those run by Radius Recycling in West Oakland, process vast volumes of scrap metal—cars, appliances, and other discarded goods—but what’s left behind often poses a hidden danger. In a community like West Oakland, already hemmed in by major freeways and the Port of Oakland, the cumulative effect of airborne toxins, recurring fires, and contaminated runoff isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a health crisis. Residents have reported respiratory issues and heightened concerns about cancer risk, while advocates point to decades of neglect in state-level enforcement.
California’s regulation of these facilities have shifted over time, often in ways that favor industry convenience over public health. As a result, toxic waste that might be strictly controlled in other sectors is treated here as if it were benign — left to leach into soil and groundwater or blow through open air.
Related: The “original sin” of air quality regulations is keeping communities polluted. But that’s changing
