Steve Jobs Wouldn't Cry if the Cement Plant Got the Boot

, Apple's CEO, says he "wouldn't cry" if Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant and Quarry were booted from the Cupertino neighborhood where Jobs was reared.

During meeting where he unveiled plans for Apple’s new headquarters on Pruneridge Avenue and Wolfe Road—the Hewlett-Packard site purchased last year—Councilman Barry Chang asks Jobs about air quality. (In the accompanying video the exchange begins at 16:45 into the recording.)

“I know you care about the air quality,” Chang says. “I understand that you (don’t) allow any employees (to) smoke inside building, right?”

Jobs confirms Chang’s question and adds: “Both my parents died of lung cancer from smoking so I’m a little sensitive on that topic.”

Chang then asks Jobs if he is familiar with the Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant nearby that “is polluting the air.”

“I grew up about five blocks away from that, about six blocks away, so I’m pretty familiar with the Kaiser plant,” Jobs says. “And yeah I think it would be great if the Kaiser plant wasn’t there, but, you know, they bought the land fair and square, so they’re probably not going anywhere. But if you kicked Kaiser out, I wouldn’t cry.”

Jobs calls the cement plant "Kaiser," because when he was growing up, it was still called Kaiser Permanente Cement Plant after its founder, Henry Kaiser.

The cement plant produces about 70 percent of the cement used in Santa Clara County. It is an ongoing target of neighborhood and environmental groups for air and water pollution, the most recent battle waged in a , of which Chang is a board member.

On Friday, Lehigh announced the installation of a .