<p><span>For over 50 years, Darling Ingredients, Inc. (Darling) has operated an animal rendering facility in Bayview-Hunters Point (BVHP)—a low-income community in San Francisco, California (CA) made up of large populations of Black, Asian-American/Pacific Islander, and Latinx residents. The facility’s noxious emissions along with several other pollution sources put BVHP in the 80th percentile for pollution sources and health risks in the entire state of California. This report analyzes the rendering facility’s compliance status with environmental laws and makes several conclusions and recommendations for the community to reduce the disproportionate harm caused from the facility’s operations.</span></p>
<p><span>The report’s conclusions draw on public documents obtained from three of ten agencies that regulate Darling’s operations. Based on public information, we identified between 2002-2021 that BAAQMD received numerous public complaints and issued two notices of violation to Darling. BAAQMD issued these violations to Darling’s San Francisco facility for emitting noxious fumes and failing to adequately maintain equipment. The report outlines these conclusions and provides recommendations for reducing the effects of Darling’s operations on the community. Finally, the report’s conclusions raise the question of whether BVHP, “a low-income neighborhood, made up of large communities of Black, Asian-American/Pacific Islander, and Latinx residents, should bear the brunt of the effects of the plant” that the city touts as environmentally “sustainable.”</span></p>
