For over 100 years, the toxic AB&l metal foundry operated at 7825 San Leandro Street, emitting pollution into the air, soil, and water of East Oakland. Community members fought for over a decade to shut it down.
Fifteen years of organizing, advocacy and participatory research pushed regulators and government agencies to pay attention to frontline community concerns, which led to a Health Risk Assessment that gave affected community members more information about the level of harm AB&I was causing. Finally a lawsuit about cancer-causing hexavalent chromium spewing from the site culminated in AB&I closing the facility in 2022.
The Alameda County Environmental Health Department is now overseeing the remediation process for the cleanup of toxic substances at the AB&I site — and community continues to watchdog this site to ensure the site is cleaned up!
Almost immediately after AB&I closed, the real estate company Prologis purchased the land and developed plans to put a 311,000 square foot warehouse on site. We then learned that Prologis leased the land to Auto Plus Towing, which has towed damaged, wrecked, and burnt-out vehicles that are an additional source of hazardous pollution, all without proper permitting.
Photo by the Alameda County Department of Environmental Health of burned vehicles at 7825 San Leandro Street
CBE worked to notify community members, ACEHD, and the City of Oakland planning department about Auto Plus’s unpermitted use and additional pollution risk. Due to community pressure, the City of Oakland is developing plans to move Auto Plus Towing off the site, but this process is still ongoing.
East Oakland is NOT a dumping ground for industrial pollution!
7825 San Leandro Street is in Deep East Oakland, where Hegenberger Road crosses San Leandro Street—within half a mile of Coliseum BART Station, Acorn Woodland and EnCompass Academy Elementary Schools, and homes in the neighborhoods of Woodland and Highland.
The poisoning of communities like this is tied to the racist legacy of redlining. It’s unacceptable for the City of Oakland to allow Auto Plus Towing to operate illegally, especially in a community that has long fought for clean air, soil and water.
We fought to shut down the toxic AB&I Foundry and will continue to follow the remediation process every step of the way to ensure that this site is cleaned up and no longer harming nearby residents.
Learn more about the toxic legacy of AB&I
Our latest fact sheet on AB&I, Toxics in your Backyard: 7825 San Leandro Street, gives a breakdown of the type of pollution at this site and the related cumulative health impacts on the surrounding community.
Nuestra última hoja informativa sobre AB&I brinda un desglose del tipo de contaminación en este sitio y los impactos acumulativos sobre la salud.