Exide Battery Plant to Close in Vernon

U.S. Attorney Stephanie Yonekura announced this week that after more than 90 years, the Vernon battery recycling plant a few miles from downtown L.A. is shutting down for good. It was a notorious polluter. Now, after years of complaints and a federal investigation, Exide, the company that operates the plant, has made a deal to demolish the plant and pay for the cleanup. That’s estimated to cost at least $50 million. But under the agreement, the company will not be prosecuted. We look at how the settlement came about.