MECCA, Calif. (June 7, 2011)-A Mecca-based tire recycler must immediately take steps to reduce fire risks on its property or face fines of up to $7,500 per day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered.
The May EPA order against Consolidated Tire Recyclers Inc. followed up on the notice of violation issued May 26 by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Reservation. The company's business site is within the reservation, the EPA said.
Based on a May 11 visit to the Consolidated Tire property, the EPA and the Bureau of Indian Affairs estimate there are some 90,000 tires on the site.
A fire broke out May 17 in the rubber aspiration system at the site, according to the EPA order. Although the fire was contained to the piping system and no one was hurt, fire prevention measures at the site are inadequate to address a full-blown fire there, the agency said.
Under the order, Consolidated Tire must take immediate action to reduce the number of stockpiled tires, properly store remaining tires, remove scrap tires from a site across the street from the business, remove wooden pallets and other flammable materials, and upgrade the fire suppression system.