Tampa Smelter Faces $320,000 Fine For Airborne Lead Exposure

Envirofocus Technologies LLC, operating as Gopher Resource LLC, faces $319,876 in total penalties after OSHA cited the Tampa, Fla.-based battery recycling facility with a willful violation for allegedly exposing workers to inhalation hazards, according to a news release.

The company also allegedly allowed cadmium, lead, and inorganic arsenic exposure levels above the permissible exposure limit, and failed to provide employees with adequate respirators that could have kept worker exposure to hazardous substances at or below the allowable level of exposure. The plant recycles automotive batteries by separating the battery components to capture lead, acid, and plastic, then processes those ...