Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Facility Investigation and Cleanup Program (LABRIC Program)
The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is implementing a Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Facility Investigation and Cleanup Program (LABRIC Program) to identify, characterize, and clean up lead contamination that DTSC believes resulted from the operation of lead-acid battery recycling facilities. The LABRIC Program was established pursuant to Assembly Bill 2153 (Chapter 666, Statutes of 2016), which became the Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016 (Act). This Act created the Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund (Fund) to provide resources, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the investigation and cleanup of areas of the state reasonably suspected of being contaminated by the operation of lead-acid battery recycling facilities.
DTSC developed a draft framework for the LABRIC Program based on statutory requirements and established policies and procedures from DTSC’s Site Mitigation and Restoration Program (Cleanup Program). The framework describes the process DTSC proposes to use to investigate and clean areas reasonably suspected of being contaminated by the operation of lead-acid battery recycling facilities, and includes public participation input and methods designed to enhance cleanup effectiveness and protection of public health and the environment. The framework reflects DTSC’s commitment to engage with environmental justice communities impacted by elevated lead from industrial activities.