To Inform L.A. City of Environmental Specialists
Volume 4, No. 1 - May 1994
Hazardous and Toxic Materials City News
City of Los Angeles
Board of Public Works
Hazardous and Toxic Materials Office
200 North Spring Street, Room 353
Los Angeles, California 90012
Mail Stop 465
By Bill Creitz, General Services
Fortunately, most City employees will never have to use DCSI or even learn what the acronym means. There are, however, a few of us who are certainly glad they're around.
By DCSI, of course, I mean Disposal Control Services, Inc., a Laidlaw Environmental Services company that provides emergency response services to City departments to clean up hazardous waste spills, dispose of abandoned drums, and test potentially harmful substances for removal and disposal (or recycling). Maybe calling DCSI "damage control experts" might be more appropriate since they frequently do just that on behalf of the City.
Last November, after nearly two years of work by an ad hoc committee of hazardous waste managers from four City departments, a first-ever emergency response contract (#54512) was executed. For purposes of cost control and service efficiency, a separate contract is now available to City employees who either routinely manage generation and disposal of hazardous waste or simply have a change encounter with such material during the course of their jobs.
To date, six departments have signed on as "users": Environmental Affairs, Fire, General Services, Police, Public Works, and Recreation and Parks. Because of its responsibility for disposing of abandoned drums, household waste, and contaminants in our waste water, the Public Works Department is the most frequent user of this contract. However, any City department may sign-on to use the agreement.
If you're not a prime user, you may be thinking "When would I ever use an emergency response contract? Don't the Fire and Police departments handle this stuff" In some cases, the answer is "Yes." More often than not, however, it's the responsibility of the department that "generates" hazardous waste or the facility which is the repository for such waste that must manage its removal. The Fire and Police departments may respond to calls to either contain an incident or conduct a risk assessment, but their mandate may not extend beyond that. Also, if one of your facilities is the site of a hazardous waste leak or spill, especially one that threatens the health or safety of employees or the public, you may have the cause to call DCSI.
In cases where an emergency response is need, you will likely find that the new contract is easy to use, more "user friendly" than most service agreements, and that clean-up and disposal services and costs are more clearly stated than in the past. There's even a generic procedures guide that's been included so that each department can tailor it specifically to its own operations to ensure that all affected employees manage the contract in the same manner. What's more, there is a sample invoice with a City-approved standard format to help expedite review and payment by your Accounting section.
One last feature of the emergency response contract that may warrant your attention is the one-hour response feature. No matter when you call for assistance, Disposal Control Services, Inc. crews must be on the road within one hour of receiving your call. Flexibility in responding from base stations in either Upland or Wilmington also helps guarantee a timely response to each call.
Hopefully, you will never have to use the procedures guide, the sample invoice, the one-hour response feature-in short-the contract. But, if the need does arise (as it has over two hundred times since November), you can be sure there is a company ready to respond and a contract in place to help you safely and efficiently manage your waste.
If you would like a copy of contract #54512 or additional information about Disposal Control Services, Inc., call Bill Creitz at (213) 485-5846.
By Jerry Schneider, DWP
Savings of over $100/ton from the processing and reuse of contaminated soil was achieved by the Department of Water and Power. The conversion of waste to profit is not only environmentally correct it also demonstrates how waste minimization saves money and generates profits.
The DWP, over the last two years, processed more than 3,000 tons of soil contaminated with oil from DWP clean up sites. The soil contaminants were mostly mineral oils, and other oil types. PCB's, heavy metals, or other toxics, were not present.
A processing firm was retained to process and recycle the soil as a constituent for cold mix asphalt, a nonhazardous material. The asphalt product conforms to ASTM standards and specifications and is used as road bed material on DWP's service roads.
The processing costs were $50-$70/ton. The road base material, purchased as a new material, costs $10/ton. The alternative to soil processing is landfill disposal. Landfill hauling and tipping costs were $150/ton and would also reduce landfill capacity. The reuse of 3,000 tons of contaminated soil as road covering saved the DWP over $300,000. For more information, contact Jerry Schneider at 213-367-0533.
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Summary by Curt Holguin, City Attorney's Office
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control ("DTSC") offers a walk-in program for voluntary cleanup by owners of contaminated sites that could offer significant benefits to City Departments which own or manage such property. The program, titled "Voluntary Site Cleanups", is in essence a co-administration of site cleanup by owners and DTSC without threat of DTSC enforcement orders, fines or other penalties.
Owners contract for one or more DTSC consultation services leading to a certification that their site is clean to an agree level. The DTSC services are: preliminary endangerment assessments ("PEAS") if not already performed; technical services such as site investigation, risk assessment, and establishment of remediation goals; and lab analysis. The DTSC fees are an $8,000 flat fee for PEAS, hourly charges for the consultation service(s) selected, and the cost of lab analysis.
Among the benefits of utilizing the program are:
Because "Voluntary Site Cleanup" involves contact with a regulatory agency and negotiation of a contract, please call the City Attorney's Office before contacting DTSC about the program. You may call Curt Holguin or Keith Pritsker in the Real Property-Environment Division at, respectively, ex 54230 and ex 57513.
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Over 100 City employees received Department Of Transportation sanctioned "Eight Hour General Awareness Training for Transportation of Hazardous Materials" by Mike Hagen of the LAPD's Hazardous Materials Unit. The training session was organized by the HTM Office as a part of its ongoing program to promote pollution prevention awareness to City employees and assist in maintaining environmental compliance throughout the City's departments. The departments represented at this session included General Services, Public Works, Transportation, LAPD, along with several other City agencies.
The training covered the new DOT packaging standards, determining proper shipping names and hazard classifications, and placarding requirements. The DOT regulations require training of persons involved in either preparing or shipping of hazardous materials and/or wastes.
Officer Hagen teaches Hazardous Materials Transportation Regulations at West Los Angeles College as well as instructing for U.S. DOT. He is an employee of LAPD's Hazardous Materials Unit, which is involved in the investigation of hazardous materials crimes.
Official certificates of Training Completion, supporting literature, and training materials were prepared and distributed by the HTM Office. This training fulfills the requirements of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 172.700-New DOT Training.
The City employees, along with the HTM Office, wish to express their gratitude for Officer Hagen's generosity in sharing his expertise with all who attended this important training session.
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By Bill Moston, HTM Office
The HTM Office maintains a clearinghouse of information related to hazardous waste reduction ranging from general to waste minimization fact sheets. Waste minimization guides are also available in Spanish.
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By Donna Toy-Chen, Director HTM Office
The City of Los Angeles is comparable to a giant corporation with 32 different industries. Each department's environmental compliance requirements are unique. The Hazardous and Toxic Materials (HTM) Office assists City departments with practical solutions for environmental compliance, waste minimization, and encourages pollution prevention strategies. In 1988 the HTM Office established an interdepartmental Waste Minimization Implementation Committee, which has been an enabling forum for many city departments to establish their hazardous waste management programs without reinventing the wheel. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide an additional forum of useful and timely hazardous waste management information.
The HTM Office provides nonenforcement pollution prevention technical assistance to City departments and private industry. Our staff of environmental specialists provides compliance training, on-site technical assistance, pollution prevention case studies, environmental service and supplier data base information, and facilitates interdepartmental exchange of material.
As part of the HTM Office City News quest for information we are seeking articles for upcoming editions. Articles should deal with issues and improvements in pollution, waste, or environmental matters, and be 200-300 words in length. Content is more important than form. If you have an idea for a newsletter contribution, please call us at 237-1209.
The HTM Office Newsletter is produced by: Luis Cujino, Bill Moston, Mark Nakata, Marv Sachse, Bianca Vite, and David Wada, along with city employee article contributors. I would like to express my appreciation for their assistance,-and forewarn them that we are starting work on the next edition. HTM
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The HTM Office will be sponsoring a Free Pollution Prevention for Hazardous Materials and Waste Workshop in Spanish. The workshop will be held on May 18 in the L.A. Harbor Department Auditorium. For more information about this workshop please call the HTM Office at (213) 237-1209.
HTM City News, published periodically, updates Los Angeles City Departments and Bureaus on hazardous and toxic materials management and minimization issues. The Hazardous and Toxic Materials Office distributes the newsletter primarily to Los Angeles City Employees. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Los Angeles City Board of Public Works. The commercial products or services mentioned are not necessarily endorsed by the City of Los Angeles. The editors welcome submissions for articles and press releases for calendar events listing. Please send all correspondences to: Board of Public Works, HTM Office, 200 N. Spring Street, Room 353, Los Angeles, CA 90012 or Mail Stop 465. For further information or assistance call (213) 237-1209 or x71209.
Board of Public Works Members
Charles E. Dickerson III, President
J.P. Ellman, Vice-President
Percy Duran III, President Pro-Tempore
M.E. "Red" Martinez