Advocates urge State Water Board to examine waste-worker fatalities, toxic exposures and water-quality risks

During public forum at the Dec. 2 State Water Board meeting, Jeff Ellsworth (former mayor of St. Helena and member of Cal LULAC) presented a slide-backed account alleging multiple Latino waste-worker fatalities at Bay Area facilities, alleged exposures to radioactive and other toxic wastes, and a pattern of fires and contamination incidents that can affect water quality.

Ellsworth said the California LULAC Waste Workers Advocacy Committee, formed in 2025, joined a wider coalition to press agencies to investigate fatalities, workplace exposures and related public-safety risks. "We're asking for these issues to be examined comprehensively and transparently, ideally in public hearings where all pertinent information can be brought forward," Ellsworth said.

He cited at least four recent worker deaths within the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board jurisdiction, including a 2025 forklift fatality and a May 2025 death at a Recology facility in Brisbane, and described large-scale fires and contamination incidents at ALCO, Recology Brisbane and Upper Valley Disposal Service (Clover Flat Landfill) in Napa County. Ellsworth said some Cal/OSHA reports conflict with eyewitness and coworker accounts and said workers' complaints are not adequately reaching oversight agencies.

Ellsworth urged the State Water Board to create a portal to receive worker complaints and to examine the water-quality implications of waste-site fires, toxic leachate and runoff. The chair and staff said they would follow up with the regional water board and regional offices to ensure concerns are heard.

Board staff acknowledged the presentation and indicated they would circle back with regional offices to determine whether additional review or coordination with Cal/OSHA and other agencies is warranted.