State Wide Metal Recycling, now located at 4300 Delaware in northeast Des Moines and formerly at 5310 Broadway in Altoona, is in the business of processing scrap metal. Capacitors in appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners, stoves and other appliances contain PCBs and are to be removed and disposed of properly. The Mahaska County charges stemmed from State Wide's metal crushing operation located at the Mahaska County landfill, which had a contract with the company to dispose of the PCB-carrying capacitors. The DNR inspector opened one of the bales of scrap metal and found numerous electrical capacitors which had been crushed and were leaking PCB- contaminated material on the ground. In addition to the illegal disposal charges relating to the Mahaska County Landfill and the Altoona site, the company is charged with illegally transporting and storing PCB waste.
PCB waste is considered a hazardous waste under federal and state law.
In the past, PCB oil was used in the electrical utility industry for transformers, capacitors, and other uses, but its use was discontinued in 1979 due to its environmental and health hazards. Regulations now require PCB-containing materials to be removed and disposed of as a hazardous waste before scrap materials are recycled. Polk County Attorney John Sarcone's office will share prosecution duties with Miller's Office for the Polk County charges. Initial assessment for remediation or clean-up of the site in Altoona has been initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.