Blog Post: April 14, 2021
What do you think would happen if you took a giant chainsaw to an SUV?
If you imagined metal shards and particles of plastic and foam flying in every direction, you wouldn’t be far off!
The high-impact process of industrial metal shredding generates a by-product known as “auto fluff.” But there is...
BK In The News: February 10, 2021
California’s toxics department has struck a $4.1 million settlement with a metal-shredding company in Oakland over allegations that the facility violated state environmental laws, but environmentalists are still urging a court to order the department to enforce hazardous waste regulations at the...
Featured Stories: November 24, 2020
Baykeeper’s Bay-Safe Industry Campaign is making rapid progress. We launched the campaign in 2012, and have so far secured legally-binding agreements requiring 51 industrial facilities to implement controls to keep toxic pollution from contaminating San Francisco Bay.
These victories include...
Blog Post: November 16, 2020
All around the Bay Area, hundreds of industrial facilities allow their polluted runoff to seep into the watershed—a slow drip of toxic waste that turns into a deluge every time it rains.
At Baykeeper, we’re working to put a stop to this widespread source of pollution. Our scientists and lawyers...
Press Release: October 16, 2020
Oakland, CA — Baykeeper and the US Coast Guard reached an agreement today that requires the federal agency to make significant changes to reduce heavy metals and other pollutants from its Yerba Buena Island facility in San Francisco Bay. The agreement also requires the Coast Guard to put a civilian...
Blog Post: October 13, 2020
The Bay is literally surrounded by polluters of all shapes and sizes.
Approximately 1,600 industrial facilities line the Bay and its tributaries. In the absence of pollution controls, these companies dump contaminants into storm drains, creeks, streets, and San Francisco Bay. So every year, our...
Blog Post: August 13, 2020
Last summer, when Baykeeper scientists reviewed pollution data from across the Bay Area, one facility stood out. Lab results from PJ’s Rebar revealed that its Fremont facility had been releasing stormwater runoff contaminated with heavy metals, nitrogen, and other pollutants. This toxic runoff then...
Blog Post: February 14, 2020
One of the largest horse boarding facilities in the country lies on the banks of the Petaluma River (pictured, above). For years, there's been nothing to stop the horse manure from flowing straight into the river and downstream to San Francisco Bay.
Manure runoff contains unlawfully high levels of...
Blog Post: December 9, 2019
More than 1,600 industrial facilities around the Bay use and store heavy metals, synthetic chemicals, fuels, and hazardous waste in outdoor areas. With each passing day, these toxic materials accumulate on surfaces and structures around the sites.
When the first big storms of the rainy season hit,...
Blog Post: August 26, 2019
Can heavy industry coexist with a healthy San Francisco Bay? Yes, but only if companies use exceptional pollution controls.
When Baykeeper first investigated U.S. Pipe and Foundry, a steel pipe manufacturer in Union City, we found that polluted water was running off its 70-acre facility with few...