Conducting metal recycling activities directly adjacent to Jordan High School since 1949, S&W Atlas Iron and Metal Co. (Atlas) has a long history of posing adverse safety and environmental impacts to the school and community. This history includes the launching of dangerous projectiles onto the school, adverse noise and vibration hazards that impact the school, and a continuous metal mist that has contaminated the air, soil, and water. These impacts have resulted in the contamination of classrooms with lead, which has since been cleaned up.

In June 2020, LA Unified filed a federal lawsuit against Atlas, alleging that the company had violated state and federal environmental laws by illegally disposing of hazardous waste. The lawsuit was filed after the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) confirmed that Atlas had been illegally dumping hazardous waste at its facility near Jordan High School. The lawsuit also alleged that Atlas' operations have caused significant health and safety risks to students and staff at Jordan High School.

In November 2020, a federal court granted LA Unified’s motion for a preliminary injunction and ordered Atlas to stop the dangerous projectiles from being launched onto Jordan High School.

In May 2021, Atlas constructed an illegal and dangerous triple-stacked container wall in response to the injunction. The wall was lowered to two containers in March 2022 and moved back from Jordan High School. It will soon be lowered to one container, with the requirement that the Atlas metal piles remain below the container.

In summer 2023, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón filed felony criminal charges against the owners of Atlas for unlawfully disposing of hazardous waste at Jordan High School in Watts. At the time of the announcement, Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho described the DA’s actions as an important step to address "dangerous environmental health and safety impacts to our schools that result from incompatible land uses." He underscored how these dangers are often allowed to occur "in underserved communities who are often confronted by adverse industrial impacts that cause air, water, and land pollution."

Pressure from LA Unified over the past year has led Atlas to implement new safety improvements to protect our school community. While these improvements are a step in the right direction, LA Unified will continue to fight for environmental justice for Jordan High School and is determined to hold Atlas accountable for its actions to ensure the company can no longer cause harm to students, staff, the community, or the environment.