Oakland Foundry to Address ‘Nuisance Odor’ Issues: Lawsuit

(Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)

(KRON) — AB&I Foundry, an East Oakland metals and pipe manufacturer, is set to pay $2.5 million to settle two lawsuits. Both lawsuits allege the company released harmful carcinogens into the air without warning residents.

In addition to the settlement, the metal foundry is ordered to resolve several noxious odor issues that stem from a “long history of odor complaints in the community,” Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday.

East Oakland’s population is 66% Latino and 21% African American. Residents live north, east, and south of the foundry. About 10 schools are within a mile of the former foundry. Numerous homeless Californians live within a quarter-mile of the foundry, including along the foundry fence.

Attorney General Rob Bonta

In December 2021, Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) sued AB&I, alleging it violated Proposition 65 regulations intended to protect residents from harmful chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.

CBE claims AB&I violated Prop 65 and “failed to warn East Oakland residents about exposure to… chemicals at concentrations that exceeded allowable limits,” the lawsuit said.

In February 2022, the California Department of Justice’s Office of Environmental Justice filed a separate lawsuit against AB&I, alleging the same violations as well as “unfair business practices and harm to natural resources,” the second lawsuit said. The two lawsuits were later consolidated into one by the Justice Department.

“While we cannot undo the harm AB&I caused, today’s settlement holds the company accountable, provides critical medical services to community members, and educates local students on environmental science and advocacy strategies,” Bonta said.

In 2022, McWane closed the East Oakland plant and relocated AB&I to Texas.

As part of the settlement, McWane, AB&I’s parent company, will pay a total of $1.3 million, half of which will go toward “additional environmental projects,” the settlement said. The rest of the Prop 65 settlement will go toward civil penalties, fees and costs.

McWane will also pay $1.2 million to settle with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for “odor nuisance violations.”