A fire at metal recycler EMR's Camden, New Jersey, bulk scrap export yard on 21 February that was likely started by a lithium-ion battery caused "extensive damage" and will "require significant repairs", the company said.
EMR said it is working with officials to assess impacts from the fire. The company is also working to make repairs to the shredder and should have a better timeline for returning to normal operations later this week, a source familiar with the matter told Argus.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will likely determine any regulatory consequences EMR could face. The local fire marshal is participating in an investigation of the incident.
DEP, which was on site while the fire was burning, directed questions to Camden County. EPA told Argus the state agency would lead the response with EPA assisting.
The blaze began Friday at around 5pm ET and burned for 12 hours, EMR said. The Camden Fire Department and 11 other fire departments extinguished the fire at the scrap yard across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
The fire burned an area about 810,000sf and about three stories high, Camden County spokesperson Dan Keashen said.
Combustible lithium-ion batteries concealed in scrap piles often cause fires at recycling facilities, even at sites that do not recycle them, such as EMR Camden. A fire broke out previously at EMR's Newark, New Jersey, scrap yard in 2022 that forced the company to shut down operations at that site for three weeks.
EMR also operates bulk scrap export yards in Bayonne, New Jersey, and New Haven, Connecticut.
