The controversial S&W Atlas Iron & Metal Co. in Watts has been shut down for good.
Atlas Iron’s owners pleaded no contest to five felony counts of hazardous waste disposal at an unpermitted site on Tuesday, “resulting in the immediate and permanent closure of all operations on its premises,” the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Atlas Metals was temporarily closed earlier this year.
The company’s father-son ownership team, 78-year-old Gary Weisenberg of Encino and 37-year-old Matthew Weisenberg of Los Angeles, each pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of unlawful disposal of hazardous waste and one count of public nuisance.
“Both are expected to be sentenced to two years of probation, ordered to complete 200 hours of community service, and fined $10,500 each plus penalty assessments,” the DA’s Office said. “Sentencing will be set for a later date.”
Atlas Metals had operated for more than 75 years, though the misconduct in this case dates back to 2017.
As recently as Aug. 12, 2024, a fiery explosion endangered students as the school, though the facility created long-term dangers as well.
As a result, Atlas Irons will have to pay $2 million in restitution and fees, as well as clean up the site and ensure it’s never used for industrial recycling or metalwork again.
“Soil samples taken from an area of the high school showed excessive concentrations of lead and zinc,” the DA’s Office said. “Additional samples taken at Atlas found excessive concentrations of seven metals. Metal debris allegedly from Atlas has been found at the high school.”
Half of that $2 million will go to the Los Angeles Unified School District — the adjacent Jordan High School was repeatedly endangered by Atlas Metals — with another $850,000 being split between the DA’s Office, the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Los Angeles County Fire Health Hazardous Materials Division. The remaining $150,000 is for fines and penalties.
In announcing the closure, District Attorney Nathan Hochman noted the danger in which the company put students and staff at the nearby school.
“This outcome shuts down a dangerous facility that has threatened this community for more than 75 years. Today, Watts is safer and the children and educators at Jordan High School can now breathe easier — literally and figuratively,” Hochman said. “We will relentlessly pursue any business that poisons our neighborhoods. Let this be a warning — if you break the law and put public health at risk, we will hold you accountable.”
In Hochman’s announcement, LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho praised the end to “a decades-long injustice.”
“This company prioritized profits over the community’s well-being for far too long, and this shutdown presents a welcome reprieve,” Carvalho said. “Let this decision send a crystal-clear message: The safety of our schools and communities is not negotiable, and no company is above the law…While we celebrate the outcome together, we are adamant that this should never happen again, in any school district, anywhere.”
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