Months after the Athletics packed their bags for Las Vegas, the team’s investment group is back in Oakland’s fights over pollution, this time teaming up with West Oakland residents who say the nearby Radius Recycling metal shredder keeps spewing hazardous smoke and dangerous dust. At the center of the dispute is whether decades-old regulatory exemptions let metal shredders handle their residue outside California’s hazardous-waste rules, a legal knot that has dragged the issue into courtrooms, agency enforcement actions and the State Capitol.
As reported by The Mercury News, the Athletics’ investment group has been pushing to end a long-standing exemption that critics say allows metal shredders to operate without meaningful hazardous-waste oversight. The A’s involvement has injected new financial and legal muscle into community complaints that have been simmering for years over the site’s impacts on neighborhood air quality.
Athletics vice chairman Sandy Dean said the team was pleased to be joined by community members and environmental groups to shine a light on the need for greater environmental law enforcement, according to The Mercury News. It is an unusually public alliance between a major sports ownership group and frontline environmental justice organizers.
The blaze that put Radius under the microscope
The current showdown traces back to a massive fire at the West Oakland shredder on August 9, 2023, that sent thick smoke over the city and triggered a wave of complaints and health alerts. According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, investigators later found that Radius had taken in excess scrap while its shredder was shut down and stored material in spots that lacked required watering systems and heat-detection cameras.
Local coverage has tracked the complicated legal aftermath, from a May 2025 dismissal of certain criminal charges to a July 2025 civil enforcement filing, as reported by KTVU.
Fines, settlements and ownership
Regulators have already landed some hits on the company’s bottom line. Local reporting covered a $575,000 Air District penalty in 2024, and the California Attorney General secured about $4.1 million from Schnitzer in 2021, according to the state’s press release.
The company, founded in 1906 by Sam Schnitzer, reported a $266 million net loss for fiscal 2024 on roughly $2.74 billion in revenue, per its SEC filing. Industry coverage notes that Radius was acquired by Toyota Tsusho America in 2025, adding a global corporate parent to the mix while local scrutiny continues.
State lawmakers move to close the gap
In Sacramento, state senators led by Sen. Anna Caballero have advanced legislation that would create a Department of Toxic Substances Control-run permitting and enforcement program specifically for metal shredders, according to the bill text and committee analysis. The proposal would spell out fire-prevention, monitoring and residue-management standards for facilities like Radius.
Supporters argue that a clear, statewide framework is necessary to protect communities that live next to scrap operations. Industry groups counter that the bill could duplicate existing oversight and drive up costs. LegiScan and related coverage lay out the contours of SB 811, which remains under active debate at the Capitol.
Community pressure and monitoring
On the ground in West Oakland, organizers and the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project have pressed for fenceline air monitors, public data on emissions and tougher day-to-day enforcement. They note that the shredder sits within a few blocks of schools, senior housing and parks, a layout that makes every smoky incident feel personal.
The EPA signed a memorandum of understanding with Radius and state regulators in January 2025 to coordinate response and monitoring, while community leaders continue to push for independent perimeter monitoring and funding aimed at local health projects. WOEIP has been central in keeping pressure on both regulators and the company.
What’s next
The fight is now unfolding on several fronts at once. Civil enforcement filings in Alameda County remain pending. Legislative work on SB 811 continues in Sacramento. The long record over Department of Toxic Substances Control “f letters” and historic exemptions lives on in the company’s regulatory and court files.
How regulators ultimately balance public-health protections, industrial operations and legal precedent will determine whether West Oakland’s battle becomes a model for stricter shredder oversight across California. Readers can follow the bill’s status through BillTrack50 and related committee materials.
For neighbors who sheltered indoors during the 2023 fire and watched the smoke roll past their windows, the A’s public alignment with residents is a visible sign that the issue has momentum. Turning speeches, press releases and bills into cleaner air and fewer fires, though, is likely to be a long, contested slog through courts, agencies and hearing rooms that residents say they have no intention of abandoning.
