EvilCorporations.com | Corporate Accountability Project
Honeywell International · Federal Superfund Lawsuit · 1941–Present
Honeywell Poisoned North Hollywood’s Water and Left Taxpayers to Clean It Up
Decades of industrial solvent dumping at a former aerospace plant contaminated 4 square miles of groundwater beneath a Los Angeles residential neighborhood. Now the federal government is suing to force a cleanup and recover millions.
CRITICAL SEVERITY
TL;DR
From 1941 to 1992, the Bendix Corporation (now Honeywell International) ran an aerospace manufacturing and chrome-plating facility in North Hollywood, California. Workers dumped toxic solvents including TCE, PCE, and chromium directly onto the ground, where they leached into the groundwater beneath 4 square miles of mixed residential and industrial land. The contamination was so severe it landed the site on the federal Superfund National Priorities List in 1986. Decades later, Honeywell has still not fully cleaned it up. The U.S. Department of Justice and California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control filed suit on September 30, 2024, demanding Honeywell repay over $7 million in government cleanup costs already spent, and actually perform the remediation required to protect the people of North Hollywood.
Honeywell reported $36.7 billion in revenue in 2023. There is no excuse for forcing taxpayers and regulators to subsidize the cleanup of its own toxic waste.
$7M+
Government cleanup costs already incurred (as of Sept. 2019)
4 sq mi
Area of North Hollywood groundwater contamination
51 yrs
Duration of industrial operations at the Bendix site (1941-1992)
1986
Year the site was placed on the federal Superfund list
38 yrs
Years the site has been on the National Priorities List without full cleanup
4
Toxic compounds confirmed in the groundwater: TCE, PCE, 1,4-dioxane, chromium
The Allegations: A Breakdown
Core Allegations
What Honeywell did to North Hollywood
| 01 | The former Bendix facility operated from approximately 1941 to 1992, manufacturing, plating, and finishing aerospace parts. Solvents including TCE, PCE, and 1,4-dioxane were used throughout all 51 years of operations. | high |
| 02 | Chromium-containing substances were used in chrome-plating operations and discharged, spilled, and leaked onto the land, migrating into the groundwater beneath the site and surrounding neighborhood. | high |
| 03 | The contamination extends across approximately 4 square miles beneath a community of mixed residential, commercial, and industrial land use in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. | high |
| 04 | Honeywell International is the direct legal successor to The Bendix Corporation, Allied Corporation, and The Signal Companies, all of which owned or operated the facility during active contamination periods. | high |
| 05 | Hazardous substances from the Bendix site continue to migrate in the groundwater today, meaning the active contamination never stopped; it is ongoing. | high |
| 06 | The U.S. EPA determined that the contamination presents an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, welfare, and the environment. | high |
Regulatory Failures
How oversight failed North Hollywood for decades
| 01 | The site was placed on the federal Superfund National Priorities List in June 1986, yet active remediation remains incomplete nearly 40 years later. | high |
| 02 | A first interim cleanup remedy was implemented between 1987 and 2007, a 20-year process that still failed to resolve the contamination. A second interim remedy was required and finalized in 2009. | high |
| 03 | The Basin-Wide Remedial Investigation spanning all four San Fernando Valley Superfund sites has been ongoing since March 1988, with monitoring, mapping, and sampling continuing today, over 36 years later. | medium |
| 04 | The government must sue Honeywell to force it to perform the very cleanup that regulators required years ago, demonstrating that Honeywell has resisted compliance even after formal remediation orders were in place. | high |
Profit Over People
How Honeywell externalized the cost of its pollution onto the public
| 01 | The United States government, not Honeywell, has borne the primary financial burden of investigating and remediating this contamination for nearly four decades. | high |
| 02 | As of September 30, 2019, the U.S. had incurred at least $5,139,849 in unrecovered site-specific cleanup costs and at least $1,880,449 in basin-wide investigation costs allocated to this site, totaling over $7 million before interest, with costs continuing to accrue. | high |
| 03 | California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control separately incurred at least $21,952.57 in unrecovered costs, with ongoing expenditures continuing at taxpayer expense. | medium |
| 04 | Honeywell profited from the aerospace manufacturing operations that produced this contamination for over 50 years, then passed the multi-million dollar cleanup bill to federal and state governments. | high |
Public Health and Safety
The toxic substances threatening North Hollywood residents
| 01 | TCE (trichloroethylene) is a confirmed human carcinogen known to cause kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and liver cancer. It was used throughout all decades of Bendix operations. | high |
| 02 | PCE (tetrachloroethylene) is a probable human carcinogen linked to bladder cancer, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It was also discharged at the Bendix facility. | high |
| 03 | 1,4-dioxane is a likely human carcinogen and a particularly dangerous groundwater contaminant because it travels further and faster than other solvents and resists conventional treatment methods. | high |
| 04 | Chromium (specifically hexavalent chromium) is a known human carcinogen linked to lung cancer and was made infamous by the Erin Brockovich case. It was used in chrome-plating at the Bendix facility. | high |
| 05 | The contamination threatened water-supply wells operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, putting the drinking water of a major American city at risk. | high |
| 06 | The contamination zone covers approximately 4 square miles beneath a community where people live, work, and go to school, with hazardous plumes still migrating in the groundwater. | high |
Community Impact
What North Hollywood residents are living with
| 01 | The contamination underlies a mixed residential, commercial, and industrial neighborhood in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, where families live in proximity to one of the country’s most persistent toxic groundwater sites. | high |
| 02 | The contaminated area sits within the broader San Fernando Valley Basin, which has four separate Superfund sites, revealing a pattern of industrial contamination concentrated in a single region of Los Angeles. | medium |
| 03 | LADWP wells that supply drinking water to Los Angeles residents have been threatened by this contamination, requiring costly containment and treatment infrastructure to protect public water supplies. | high |
Corporate Accountability Failures
How Honeywell avoided full responsibility for 38 years
| 01 | Despite the site landing on the National Priorities List in 1986, a full and permanent cleanup remedy has still not been implemented nearly four decades later. | high |
| 02 | Honeywell has only been pursued through “interim” remedies, not a final permanent solution, meaning the company has never been held to a complete cleanup standard. | high |
| 03 | The federal government must use the courts to compel Honeywell to perform cleanup that should have been completed voluntarily, underscoring the absence of voluntary corporate accountability. | high |
| 04 | The lawsuit seeks joint and several liability, meaning each defendant is fully responsible for all cleanup costs regardless of their proportional contribution, because the harm is inseparable. | medium |
Timeline of Events
~1941
The Bendix Corporation begins aerospace manufacturing and chrome-plating operations on a 23.5-acre site in North Hollywood, bounded by Sherman Way to the north and Lankershim Boulevard to the west.
1941–1992
Solvents (TCE, PCE, 1,4-dioxane) and chromium are discharged, spilled, and leaked onto the land throughout 51 years of operations, migrating into the groundwater beneath North Hollywood.
June 1986
The San Fernando Valley (Area 1) Superfund Site, including the North Hollywood Operable Unit, is placed on the EPA’s National Priorities List due to groundwater contamination.
March 1988
EPA and LADWP begin a Basin-Wide Remedial Investigation across all four San Fernando Valley Superfund sites, including ongoing monitoring and groundwater sampling. This investigation continues today.
1987–2007
A first interim cleanup remedy is implemented over 20 years at the North Hollywood Operable Unit. The contamination remains unresolved.
1992
Industrial operations at the Bendix/Honeywell site cease, but contamination continues to migrate in the groundwater.
Sept. 2009
EPA finalizes a second Interim Action Record of Decision, selecting a second interim remedy for the North Hollywood Operable Unit: an extraction well network and above-ground water treatment system.
Sept. 2019
As of this date, the United States has incurred at least $7,020,298 in unrecovered cleanup costs at the North Hollywood Operable Unit, not including interest.
Sept. 30, 2024
The U.S. Department of Justice and California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control file a federal lawsuit against Honeywell International demanding full cost recovery and implementation of the required cleanup remedy.
Direct Quotes from the Legal Record
QUOTE 1
EPA’s determination of public danger
Public Health
“EPA has determined that there is or may be an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the environment because of the release and threatened release of hazardous substances from the NHOU.”
💡 This is the U.S. EPA saying plainly that Honeywell’s contamination poses a right-now danger to people living in North Hollywood. “Imminent and substantial” is not cautious regulatory language: it is an alarm.
QUOTE 2
Confirming Honeywell’s legal liability as Bendix successor
Corporate Accountability
“Defendant Honeywell International Inc. (f/k/a Allied-Signal Inc. and AlliedSignal, Inc.) is the successor to The Bendix Corporation, Allied Corporation, and The Signal Companies, Inc., each of which formerly owned and/or operated the Bendix facility at the time of disposal of hazardous substances at the Bendix facility.”
💡 Honeywell cannot escape responsibility by pointing to old corporate names. The law follows the liability through every merger and acquisition, and Honeywell owns it.
QUOTE 3
Describing how toxic chemicals entered the groundwater
Core Allegations
“‘Disposals’ within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601(29) and 6903(3) of chromium and solvents, including TCE, PCE, and 1,4-dioxane, occurred during industrial operations at the Bendix facility, including the discharge, spilling, leaking, and/or placing of these hazardous substances onto land such that they may enter the environment and be discharged into groundwater.”
💡 The complaint uses the word “disposal” because that is what legally triggers Superfund liability. But in plain language: they spilled, discharged, and leaked cancer-causing chemicals onto the ground for 50 years.
QUOTE 4
Confirming contamination is still migrating today
Public Health
“These hazardous substances migrated into, and continue to migrate in, groundwater.”
💡 Present tense. The contamination is not a historical artifact. It is moving through the groundwater beneath North Hollywood homes and businesses right now.
QUOTE 5
The scale and location of the contaminated area
Community Impact
“The NHOU encompasses approximately 4 square miles and is approximately bounded by Sun Valley and Interstate 5 to the north, State Highway 170 and Lankershim Boulevard to the west, the Burbank Airport to the east, and Oxnard Street to the south.”
💡 Four square miles. That is not an industrial backwater: it is a densely populated urban neighborhood in Los Angeles, home to thousands of residents who deserve clean water.
QUOTE 6
The government’s unrecovered costs as of 2019
Profit Over People
“As of September 30, 2019, the United States has unrecovered response costs related to the NHOU (excluding Basin-Wide Remedial Investigation costs allocated to the NHOU) of at least $5,139,849, not including interest.”
💡 Over $5 million in site costs alone, not counting the basin-wide investigation or the years of costs incurred since 2019. American taxpayers are subsidizing Honeywell’s pollution.
QUOTE 7
Threat to Los Angeles drinking water supply
Public Health
“The objectives of the NHOU2IR include (1) improving containment of contaminated groundwater in the North Hollywood area (including the areas of highest contamination) in order to limit its migration downgradient and to prevent further contamination of production (water-supply) wells operated by LADWP.”
💡 The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power operates the wells that supply drinking water to millions of Angelenos. Honeywell’s contamination threatened that supply and required an entire extraction and treatment system to contain it.
Commentary
How long has this contamination been known about, and why is it still not cleaned up?
▾
The site was identified as a federal Superfund priority in 1986, nearly 40 years ago. Two separate “interim” remedies have been implemented, but a permanent cleanup has never been completed. This is not unusual for complex groundwater contamination: the chemicals involved, particularly 1,4-dioxane and chromium, are extremely difficult to remove from aquifers. But the slow timeline also reflects a pattern where corporations that created the contamination resist or delay full responsibility, forcing regulators to rely on court orders rather than voluntary compliance. The lawsuit filed in 2024 is an attempt to finally compel Honeywell to do what it should have done decades ago.
What exactly are TCE, PCE, 1,4-dioxane, and chromium, and why are they dangerous?
▾
These are industrial chemicals used in degreasing, metal finishing, and plating, and they are among the most toxic groundwater contaminants known. TCE and PCE are confirmed and probable human carcinogens linked to kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and other cancers. 1,4-dioxane is a likely carcinogen that is especially dangerous in groundwater because it moves fast, spreads wide, and is difficult to treat. Chromium, specifically hexavalent chromium, is a confirmed carcinogen linked to lung cancer. The fact that all four of these substances were released at the same site is not just bad: it is catastrophic for the surrounding community’s long-term health.
Is this lawsuit legitimate, and does Honeywell have a real legal defense?
▾
This lawsuit is filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the EPA and by California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control, two of the most powerful environmental enforcement bodies in the country. The legal basis is CERCLA, the Superfund law that has been upheld in courts for over 40 years. Honeywell’s primary defense would likely focus on the extent of its proportional liability relative to other defendants (Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, HD Development, and PSA Institutional Partners also own parcels on the contaminated site) and on the specific cleanup costs it should bear. However, as a corporate successor to the company that actually operated the facility and disposed of the chemicals, Honeywell’s liability is very difficult to dispute. The science and the corporate chain of ownership are not on its side.
Why are there other defendants besides Honeywell?
▾
Under CERCLA, current property owners of contaminated land can be held liable for cleanup costs, even if they did not create the contamination. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, HD Development of Maryland, and PSA Institutional Partners all currently own parcels on or adjacent to the former Bendix facility. This is a feature of Superfund law designed to ensure that contaminated land does not simply change hands to avoid liability. However, Honeywell remains the primary defendant because it is the legal successor to the company that actually operated the site and disposed of the hazardous substances.
Who is paying for the cleanup right now?
▾
As of September 2019, American taxpayers had already paid over $7 million in cleanup costs that Honeywell has not reimbursed. That total continues to grow with every year of ongoing investigation and remediation work. California’s Toxic Substances Control Account, funded by the state, has also spent money on oversight. The lawsuit seeks to recover these past costs and force Honeywell to perform the actual cleanup going forward, rather than leaving the government to pay for it indefinitely. The company that profited from the activity that caused this contamination should bear the full financial burden of fixing it.
Does this affect current drinking water in North Hollywood?
▾
The contamination has threatened LADWP water-supply wells serving the Los Angeles area. The existing extraction and treatment system is designed specifically to contain the plume and prevent it from reaching drinking water sources. However, the fact that an active containment system is required at all means that without it, residents could be exposed. The ongoing migration of hazardous substances in the groundwater represents a continuing risk, and incomplete cleanup leaves that risk in place indefinitely. Communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley have historically borne disproportionate environmental burdens, and North Hollywood is no exception.
This seems like a pattern. Does Honeywell have other environmental violations?
▾
Honeywell (and its predecessor AlliedSignal) has faced environmental enforcement actions at multiple sites across the United States, including Superfund sites in New Jersey, New York, and other states. The company has also faced litigation over chromium contamination in other jurisdictions. The North Hollywood case is part of a much longer record of industrial pollution that the company and its predecessors created, profited from, and then sought to minimize financial responsibility for. This is not an isolated incident. It is a corporate pattern of externalizing the true costs of production onto communities and government.
What can I do to prevent this from happening again?
▾
There are concrete steps that make a difference. Support organizations like Earthjustice, the Center for Environmental Health, and the NRDC that litigate against corporate polluters and push for stronger EPA enforcement funding. Contact your federal and state representatives to demand increased Superfund enforcement budgets and mandatory timelines for permanent cleanup remedies rather than endless “interim” solutions. Support ballot measures and legislation that strengthen liability for corporate polluters, eliminate bankruptcy protection for Superfund obligations, and give communities more power to force faster remediation. At the local level, get involved with your regional water board and environmental justice organizations. And vote. Environmental enforcement is a political priority, and elections determine whether the EPA has the resources and the mandate to hold corporations like Honeywell accountable.
https://www.law360.com/cases/66fac34bbfe52912940f8b87
https://www.justice.gov/enrd/media/1371476/dl?inline
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