State Completes Cleanup at Nearly 6,500 Homes

California has finished lead cleanup at thousands of properties near the former Exide battery plant in Vernon, with about 1,500 eligible properties still pending.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Home Cleaning

Photograph of a freshly excavated patch of bare soil in a suburban front yard beside a stucco wall, with stacked sod and sealed bags on a tarp. — California has finished lead-soil cleanup at nearly 6,500 homes contaminated by the former Exide battery plant in Vernon, with about 1,500 eligible properties still awaiting work. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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California has completed cleanup of nearly 6,500 homes contaminated by toxic lead released from the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon. About 1,500 eligible properties still await completed cleanup work.

Why it matters

The Exide plant released lead that contaminated soil around thousands of homes in Southeast Los Angeles. The state's work restores residential and public spaces after the company's bankruptcy left the cleanup to California.

The state has spent more than half a billion dollars on the cleanup, which has covered 12 schools, 68 child care centers and five parks along with more than 7,800 street and sidewalk areas. Roughly 1,500 eligible properties remain without completed work, and the timeline for those sites was not provided.

The players

Exide Technologies

A battery recycling company whose Vernon plant released toxic lead that contaminated nearby soil and led to its 2020 bankruptcy filing.

Gavin Newsom

The Governor of California who announced the completion of cleanup at nearly 6,500 homes.

The details

The state performs cleanup on properties where owners have granted access, including residential yards, schools, child care centers, parks and areas along streets and sidewalks. The Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon shut down in 2015 after years of environmental violations and filed for bankruptcy in 2020.

Decades before 2015: Exide recycles lead-acid batteries and releases pollution.
2015: The Exide plant shuts down after years of violations.
2020: Exide files for bankruptcy and the state takes on the cleanup.
November 6, 2026: Governor Newsom announces nearly 6,500 homes have been cleaned.

Legacy Cleanup

California's lead cleanup around the former Exide plant followed the company's 2020 bankruptcy, which left the state to fund remediation of thousands of contaminated Southeast Los Angeles properties. Nearly 6,500 homes have now been addressed, though about 1,500 eligible properties remain pending.

Residents in affected areas of Southeast Los Angeles may have lead cleanup performed in their yards if they grant state access. Properties still awaiting cleanup remain unaddressed for now.

The takeaway

Homeowners in areas affected by historical industrial lead contamination can check whether their property has been part of a state cleanup program. Participation generally requires granting access to the cleanup crews.