A judge has accepted the agreement, which resolves complaints that the owner and operator of SA Recycling and Simms Metal West violated hazardous waste and air pollution laws by continuing operations after an air pollution control system was damaged by a May 2007 explosion at its Port of Los Angeles site.
The Terminal Island facility was owned by the Hugo Neu Corp. at the time of the explosion; it was purchased by SA Recycling about four months after the explosion, according to state authorities.
The facility shreds automobiles, household appliances and other metal-based waste.
"We continue to deny that any of these allegations occurred," company spokesman Michael Bustamante said Thursday. "We're happy to put this behind us for the sake of the company and for the sake of the community."
The Department of Toxic Substances Control estimated that about 4.4 tons of unspecified "material" was released into the environment during that period.
State regulators have turned their attention to auto shredders and scrap processors, which crush and compress motor vehicles, consumer goods and other items for recycling, but leave behind residue dubbed "auto fluff," consisting of glass, rubber, fiber, engine fluids and plastics, among other substances.
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