A West Oakland metal recycling company and two of its employees were indicted on numerous felony charges related to a massive 2023 fire that spewed toxic smoke across the East Bay, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Radius Recycling faces eight charges — including three felonies — in the August 2023 blaze, which marked the third major fire at the facility in five years and sent smoke drifting across the region for about 15 hours. Two of its employees also were indicted by an Alameda County grand jury on a slew of charges, including one alleging they knowingly or recklessly dealt with hazardous waste material.
District Attorney Pamela Price called the indictment “historic,” while proclaiming a “new day” of accountability for companies that spew toxic substances into their surrounding communities.
“We believe that Radius has often shrugged off the regulations when it was convenient to them, treating minor administrative fines and civil penalties a cost of doing business,” said Price at a press conference Tuesday, adding that the company had a “terrible legacy of environmental racism and poison in Alameda County that has had a deleterious impact on West Oakland.”
A message sent by this news organization to the company was not immediately returned.
The fire at Radius Recycling — formerly known as Schnitzer Steel — sparked on Aug. 9 in a large debris pile containing aluminum, tin, light iron and steel and burned out of control for more than three hours. Even after firefighters managed to quell the largest flames, the debris pile continued to smolder and smoke into the following day.
The blaze triggered an advisory from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District that urged residents to stay inside with their windows shut. Less than 24 hours after the blaze sparked, the air quality district received nearly 50 pollution complaints. Poor air conditions were recorded as far east as Livermore and as far north as San Pablo, Price said Tuesday.
If convicted, the company itself could face fines ranging from $625,000 to $33 million.
On Tuesday, Price implored residents to contact her office if they suspect any of their health conditions were tied to the company.
“We hope that Radius will finally learn its lesson and learn to be a good corporate citizen,” Price said. “But in the interim, we will not waver in our determination to seek justice for the victims of this fire and for our community as a whole.”
Check back for updates to this developing story.