Search

Plant Owners Jailed for Accepting Explosives Illegally

Posted on 3/17/2025 by Lion Technology Inc.

Last week, owners of a scrapyard that neighbors a Los Angeles-area high school were taken into custody to spend several days in jail for violating a court order. Awaiting trial on 25 counts of criminal hazardous waste management violations, the pair were found to have violated a court order by continuing to accept canisters that held explosive materials.

To avoid explosions, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ordered the company not to accept any gas containers that hadn’t been cut or punctured. This measure was chosen over assigning bail or taking the owners into custody, to prevent future explosions.
 

Plant Owners Jailed for Accepting Explosives Illegally

Alleged Criminal Title 22/RCRA Violations

On September 26, 2025, a news release from Los Angeles County detailed the charges that the plant owners face. The two were charged with:
  • Twenty-one felony counts of knowingly disposing hazardous waste at a site with no permit and one felony county of deposit of hazardous waste.
  • One felony count of deposit of hazardous waste.
  • Two misdemeanor counts of failure to maintain or operate a facility to minimize the possibility of a fire or explosion and one count of public nuisance.
  • One misdemeanor count of failure to operate a facility to minimize the possibility of fire, explosion, or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of hazardous waste/hazardous waste constituents to air, soil, or surface water.
Soil from the adjacent high school showed high concentrations of lead and zinc. Metal debris from explosions at the plant have allegedly been found at the school.

The owners plead not guilty and are still awaiting trial.

Find a Post

Recent Posts

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

Lion - Quotes

Lion Technology workshops are amazing!! You always learn so much, and the instructors are fantastic.

Dorothy Rurak

Environmental Specialist

Lion courses always set the bar for content, reference, and practical application. Membership and access to the experts is an added bonus.

John Brown, CSP

Director of Safety & Env Affairs

The instructor kept the class engaged and made learning fun. There was a lot of information to cover but time flew by. I will definitely use Lion in the future!

Chelsea Minguela

Hazmat Shipping Professional

I used the IT support number available and my issue was resolved within a few minutes. I don't see anything that could have made it better.

Danny Province

EHS Professional

Our instructor was very dynamic and kept everyone's interest. Hazmat shipping can be a dry, complicated topic but I was engaged the entire time.

Kimberly Arnao

Senior Director of EH&S

The training was impressive. I am not a fan of online training but this was put together very well. I would recommend Lion to others.

Donnie James

Quality Manager

One of the best trainings I have ever received!

Brandon Morfin

EH&S Manager

Lion is at the top of the industry in compliance training. Course content and structure are updated frequently to make annual re-training enjoyable. I like that Lion has experts that I can contact for 1 year after the training.

Caroline Froning

Plant Chemist

Excellent class, super instructor, very easy to follow. No rushing through material. Would like to take his class again.

Lawrence Patterson

EH&S Facility Maintenance & Security Manager

Lion courses are the standard to which all other workshops should strive for!

Brody Saleen

Registered Environmental Health Specialist

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

What to do before, during, and after a RCRA hazardous waste inspection to defend your site from rising State and Federal penalties.

Download
Latest Whitepaper

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.