A metal recycling plant was indicted in a 25-count indictment on Thursday for allegedly exposing students at Jordan High School in Watts to explosives, hazardous waste and lead levels 75 times higher than those considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, authorities said.
S&W Atlas Metal & Iron and its owners, Matthew Weisenberg and Gary Weisenberg, were charged in Los Angeles County Superior Court with 23 felonies related to hazardous waste disposal and two misdemeanors related to failure to reduce the risk of explosion or fire. The defendants pleaded not guilty.
“No child should face these dangers while trying to learn,” LA County Dist. Atty. George Gascón spoke at a press conference. “By suing Atlas Metals, we are sending a message that corporate disregard for environmental laws will not be tolerated.”
Gascón initially announced two dozen charges against Atlas in June 2023.
A spokesman for the company described Gascón’s Thursday conference as “tactical gamesmanship.”
“Today’s indictment repeats 24 counts from a complaint filed more than a year ago and adds one misdemeanor,” the spokesman said in a statement. “In court, Atlas explained to the judge the actions he had taken over the years to protect the neighborhood school and the court was satisfied with that protection.”
Atlas has continued to operate since the charges were filed.
When students arrived on campus for the first day of school this fall, they were greeted with ear-splitting booms and plumes of smoke billowing from the Atlas. The indictment announced Thursday includes additional counts for the Aug. 12 explosion.
Soil samples from Jordan High School showed excessive concentrations of lead and zinc, authorities said. Above, Atlas in January 2023.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
“The explosion that happened on the first day of school made me realize that only the worst environmental criminals would be forced to continue operating business as usual while students are being poisoned,” said Genesis Cruz, a 2023 graduate from Jordan. upper. “You should be shut down immediately and out of our community.”
Cruz remembers breathing “brown, dirty air” while studying at Jordan High and said he often had trouble focusing because of the loud bangs from the metal recycling plant.
He was one of the first community members to raise the alarm about the dangerous conditions at the plant and helped organize protests and reach out to the school district and elected officials.
Jordan High School students and community members protest outside the Atlas recycling facility in January 2023.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
For years, Cruz’s cries fell on deaf ears.
Now, he and other community organizers say they feel progress has been made.
“Having been a resident of the Watts community for my entire life, 71 years, it really gives me hope to see the end of a project that I’ve been working on for almost 15 years,” said Tim Watkins, director and chief executive officer of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee. “We are finally seeing a step towards justice.”
Atlas has operated next to Jordan High School for over 70 years and has a long history of explosives.
In May 2002, an explosion sent shards of metal onto Jordan’s campus while workers were cutting oil drums. A few months later in December 2002, the facility was unloading Navy ammunition when a large shell exploded and pieces of metal flew onto the campus.
In 2020, the Los Angeles Unified School District filed a lawsuit against Atlas, saying it had endangered students and teachers by releasing pieces of metal, smoke, fumes and other hazards onto school grounds.
Soil samples taken from Jordan’s campus showed excessive concentrations of lead and zinc, according to authorities.
Exposure to high levels of lead can damage the nervous system in children, causing problems including hearing loss, seizures, learning disabilities and decreased intelligence, according to the LA County Department of Public Health.
The defendants are scheduled in court for a pre-trial hearing on October 28.
