Schnitzer Steel has history of fires at Oakland scrap yard; Paid to settle environmental claims
The Schnitzer Steel recycling yard near the Port of Oakland where a huge pile of scrap metal has been burning since early Wednesday evening has had a number of fires at the facility in recent years and has paid millions to settle alleged environmental violations.
The latest fire at the facility at 1101 Embarcadero West began at around 5:30 p.m. and was under control after several hours, but the fire continued to burn more than 18 hours later.
The City of Oakland said as of 11:30 a.m., there was "still a large amount of debris to untangle on the initial pile" and fire crews were continuing to pour water on hot spots, causing the ongoing smoke to emanate from the location. The Oakland Fire said it expected to be at the location for several more hours Thursday.
The large plume of smoke from the debris fire prompted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to issue an air quality advisory for the East Bay, with smoke being detected as far east as Livermore and as far south as San Jose.
Portland-based Schnitzer Steel Industries operates metals recycling and manufacturing plants across the U.S. and also owns the Pick-N-Pull chain of auto recycling centers. Last month the publicly-traded company announced it would rebrand as Radius Recycling.
In 2021, Schnitzer paid $4.1 million to settle a lawsuit by Alameda County and the State of California alleging the company allowed hazardous waste to pollute surrounding areas of West Oakland and the Oakland Estuary.
The settlement resolved claims that Schnitzer violated emissions rules and failed to adequately warn the community about lead and cadmium exposure from the facility. As part of the settlement, Schnitzer came under a permanent injunction prohibiting similar future violations of law and required Schnitzer to "significantly change its operations to protect the health of Oakland residents and the environment," including the installation of air pollution control equipment to cut emissions by 98%.
Funding from the settlement was also directed toward investments in environmental projects in West Oakland.
In 2020, the Oakland Athletics sued the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, claiming it was not enforcing environmental laws at the facility, and alleging the metal recycler posed a threat to the team's hopes at the time of building a new stadium next door at Howard Terminal.
The A's sought to require Schnitzer to reclassify its residue as hazardous waste, but the team lost that case on appeal, a decision which was upheld by the California Supreme Court in January.
The lawsuit also claimed that between 2018 and 2020 there were at least five fires involving hazardous materials at Schnitzer.
Other fires burned at the facility in 2009 and 2010.
On Thursday, A's president Dave Kaval posted on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that the team continues to pursue legal action against Schnitzer/Radius Recycling, despite the fact that the team has apparently given up on its plans for a ballpark at Howard Terminal and is pursuing a move to Las Vegas.
The Oakland Fire Department said a hazardous materials team would be testing the air quality and providing updates Thursday.
"We are working closely with the first responders to bring this situation to a safe conclusion," Radius Recycling spokesperson Danielle Gambogi said Thursday morning.
Data from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District showed "elevated readings last night for fine particulate matter in East Bay, along the Bay as far south as Fremont," district spokesperson Erin DeMerritt said by email Thursday. "There were also elevated readings inland, in places like Moraga, Dublin and San Ramon along the 680 corridor."
The air district extended an air quality advisory initially issued Wednesday into Thursday and expected smoke to continue in the region for several more hours, DeMerritt said.
The cause of the fire has not been determined as of Thursday afternoon.
