Quemetco’s Commitment to Environmental Safety

Since 2008, Quemetco has invested close to $50 million installing and maintaining new pollution control equipment and monitoring devices.

The Quemetco facility has multiple, state of the art environmental control and monitoring systems including:

• • A Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (“WESP”) that Quemetco voluntarily installed in 2008 at a cost of over $25 million. The WESP system dramatically reduces emissions of lead, arsenic and other hazardous air pollutants. (See WESP for additional, detailed information.);
  • A Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer – similar to an afterburner – was installed to destroy certain smog–forming organic compounds, also eliminating potential odors;
  • Air quality fence line monitoring samples for lead and arsenic content are collected daily, analyzed by a third party laboratory and sent to the South Coast Air Quality Management District;
  • Upgrades were made to ensure that all processing equipment operates under negative pressure to prevent materials from escaping into the air when doors are opened. In addition, liner-membranes are installed underneath the floors of the areas in which processing occurs;
  • All water utilized during the lead recycling process is collected and treated on-site in Quemetco’s wastewater treatment system prior to being reused or discharged to a Los Angeles County water treatment plant.