City Council Calls for Inquiry into Local Steel Plant's Emissions
Christine Fu,  Daily Californian, September 16, 1999

The Berkeley City Council requested this week that a Bay Area environmental agency investigate a local steel production company.

The City Council moved on Tuesday to recommend that the Bay Area Air Quality Management District determine the amount of pollution being emitted from West Berkeley's Pacific Steel Casting Company, according to air quality district spokesperson John Selawsky. (Note: John Selawsky is a city of Berkeley commissioner)

The air quality agency plans to conduct on-site air and soil testing to determine whether the company's chemical output endangers human health, Selawsky said.

Pacific Steel Casting manufactures steel casts, or heavy steel parts, for the trucking and oil industries.

"There is a need for more air control, and a cumulative screening of air quality is needed for the quarter mile surrounding the Pacific Steel Casting," Selawsky said.

The city's recommendation followed the community environmental advisory group's decision to ask the Bay Area air quality agency to evaluate the impact of the steel plant's emissions on human health.

But Pacific Steel Casting spokesperson Christina Chan said the company does not produce harmful chemical emissions.

The PSC is confident that there are no health risks and that living in West Berkeley is no more dangerous than living anywhere else," she said.

Chan said the casting company is planning to cooperate fully with the regional air quality agency's investigation.

But Nabil Al-Hadithy, manager of Berkeley's toxic management division, said the industrial area of West Berkeley has a history of high pollution.

Complaints from West Berkeley residents resulted in City Council actions eight years ago, he added. At the time, the council passed a measure that required industrial plants like Pacific Steel Casting to install anti-pollution devices.

An uproar arose when the casting company requested the removal of the abatement order, said Al-Hadithy.

As a result, two public hearings were held, attracting the attention of community activists like L A Wood, who said that the Bay Area air quality agency must take action on pollution caused by the steel company. "The Bay Area Air Quality Management District needs to be more progressive and begin to conduct all-encompassing air quality investigation," Wood said.

A blood test conducted on West Berkeley resident Shay Stephens showed her blood contained many toxic chemicals, including arsenic, chromium, nickel, and formaldehyde, according to Wood. "There is a definite need for a multi-facility and holistic approach to air quality control," Wood said. "The BAAQMD needs to be more futuristic and begin to include multiple facility screenings in conjunction with single plant investigations for health risks in the area of Oceanview and Albany."

The Bay Area air quality group has already done preliminary research the chemicals that may present a health risk to humans, Al-Hadithy said.

"So far there is no indication that there are any risks or threats to the community, but in order to alleviate the public's concern we will do an air sampling and further investigation," he said.