“The state of California and an Oakland-based environmental group are suing the pipe casting facility AB&I Foundry for reportedly emitting excessive levels of a carcinogenic chemical into East Oakland’s air.
“Both lawsuits, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, accuse the foundry of violating California’s Proposition 65 — a law requiring businesses to warn people about significant exposures to harmful chemicals. The state’s lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Rob Bonta on Feb. 15, states that McWane Inc. operating as AB&I Foundry, failed to warn the East Oakland community about hexavalent chromium emissions and the risks associated with exposure. Hexavalent chromium is known to cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm, and when inhaled, is 5,000 times more potent than benzene, another carcinogenic chemical that the foundry emits, the lawsuit says.”
Read the full article featuring: Dan Sakaguchi, CBE Staff Researcher, and Esther Goolsby, CBE Community Organizer