Tag Archives: Air Quality

Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Chevron Refinery, Contra Costa Health Services - Hazardous Materials Programs, Flaring, Richmond CA

Nov. 27 Chevron Richmond refinery power loss triggered flaring incident, black smoke clouds

Chevron Richmond flaring. | KPIX.

CBS Bay Area, by Dave Pehling, November 27, 2023

RICHMOND — Flaring activity at the Chevron Richmond refinery Monday afternoon due to a loss of power at part of the facility has sent a large cloud of black smoke over the region.

A Facebook post by the Chevron Richmond account shortly after 4 p.m. confirmed that the workers at the facility were attempting to “quickly to minimize and stop the flaring.” The post said a “Community Warning System (CWS) Level 1” was issued due to smoke and the visible flaring. This type of warning does not require action by the public, the post said.

A representative from Contra Costa Health (CCH) confirmed that Chevron Richmond notified them about the flaring due to “an unplanned unit shutdown” at about 3:30 p.m. CCH said it was sending a hazardous materials team to the refinery to investigate, but no shelter-in-place order has been issued in connection with the incident.

KPIX chief meteorologist Paul Heggen said the smoke plume is blowing to the west. According to the EPA and Purple Air monitors, there has not been a dramatic decline of ground-level air quality.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has not issued an alert regarding the incident and was currently showing the air quality to be moderate in the area around the refinery. District officials confirmed that their inspectors were investigating at the refinery and that they were “documenting any violations of air quality regulations and assisting first responders.”

The district initially said four complaints were received as of around 4:30 p.m. As of an hour later, 51 complaints had been submitted.

Richmond Fire officials are also at the scene and monitoring air quality.

Clean Air Act, Refinery fire, Refinery safety

“It sounded like a bomb went off”: Residents react after White Lake refinery explosion

[Note from BenIndy: Another day, another refinery explosion. Take  a minute to review the drone footage available below. Particularly striking in this article was the resident quoted as admitting that she and many of her neighbors were unaware that they lived in close proximity to a refinery. This is not uncommon in refinery towns, including Benicia. What if there had been an urgent need to evacuate nearby residential neighborhoods? Situations like this demonstrate just how important clear, timely, and accurate communication between industrial/corporate interests, local government, local media, and the general public is to protecting the health and safety of refinery-town residents. An informed and engaged community is a safer and healthier community.]

Drone footage of explosion in White Lake Township. | CBS Detroit.

CBS Detroit, by Luke Laster, November 26, 2023

WHITE LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – White Lake police and township fire officials are working to discover the cause of an explosion at a refinery plant in White Lake Friday night.

It happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. in the area of Young Road and Bogie Lake Road.

It took a few hours before crews put it out, and White Lake Township’s fire chief, John Holland, says they don’t yet know what caused the flames.

“Everything shook. I was afraid. I didn’t know what the heck was happening,” says White Lake resident Chelsea Vanhorn.

Vanhorn lives in Cedarbrook Estates, a mobile home park just over a mile away from the fossil fuel recovery plant owned and operated by Hound Resources.

“My plants fell off my shelves. I thought we got bombed,” Vanhorn said.

Following what Vanhorn said was the explosion that shook her home, other residents of the mobile home park found themselves outside with their phones rolling around 10:30 p.m. Friday. It was then that she caught a second explosion on camera.

She says she didn’t even know a refinery was nearby. Many of her neighbors didn’t know either.

“We all go down by the clubhouse, you know. Try to follow it to see what it is, and it was a huge fire. The biggest fire I’ve seen. It was huge and the blackest smoke. It was so black. It was very scary,” Vanhorn said.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Clean Air Act, Refinery fire, Refinery safety

Ohio firefighters battle massive flames in containing oil refinery fire

[Note from BenIndy: Once again, from one refinery town another, Benicia surely empathizes and sympathizes with those impacted by this large refinery fire in Ohio that took 75 firefighters to contain. Impacts to nearby soil and waterways are currently under investigation. Remember, according to the WSJ, there ‘hasn’t been a major new oil refinery built in the U.S. since the 1970s, and many plants are more than 100 years old.’ That same article linked above also notes that, according to the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, ‘2021 was the worst year for serious incidents at U.S. refineries since 2015, measured by hours worked, with the rate of so-called process-safety events 25% higher than in 2019 and 2020.’  As refineries continue to deteriorate, the rate of serious incidents seems likely to increase.]

WHIOTV7, by WHIO Staff, November 22, 2023 

COLUMBUS — Ohio firefighters battled an oil refinery fire for several hours Tuesday night.

Columbus firefighters were dispatched just after 8 p.m. to GFL Columbus Refinery across from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and were put out after 10 p.m., according to our news partner WBNS in Columbus.

It is also located near John Glenn Columbus International Airport.

Firefighters had to deal with massive flames when they arrived at the scene.

Whitehall Division of Fire provided mutual aid and posted videos and photos of the fire on its social media page.

Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter told WBNS crews worked to keep other surrounding tanks cool to keep the fire from spreading.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Clean Air Act, Marathon Petroleum, Martinez CA

Fire at Martinez refinery injures one, prompts temporary public health advisory

[Note from BenIndy: This incident occurred at the Martinez Renewable Fuels (Marathon) refinery, not the (apparently also) troubled Martinez Refining Company that is currently the subject of a joint civil action brought by the Contra Costa DA and BAAQMD.]

The Martinez Marathon Refinery is pictured in January 2019. | CrystalMage / Shutterstock.

ABC7, Bay City News, November 19, 2023

MARTINEZ, Calif. — Contra Costa Health said on social media at 1:34 a.m. a CCH hazardous materials team was “responding to reports of a fire at Martinez Renewable Fuels (Marathon Refinery) that may affect surrounding areas.”

A public health advisory was issued for Martinez, Pacheco, Concord and Clyde. People were asked to visit Contra Costa Health Department for information.

Shortly after, CCH said on social media it lifted the public health advisory for Martinez, Pacheco, Concord and Clyde. “The fire at Martinez Renewable Fuels is under control,” is said.

 

CCH said on its website at 3:54 a.m. “Flaring incident at Marathon Martinez that may be seen by the surrounding community.”

An all clear for Martinez, Pacheco, Concord and Clyde” was later issued on the CCH web page.

Contra Costa County Fire Captain George Lang told ABC7 News Sunday morning one person was hurt and airlifted to an area hospital.

The company says they will be investigating the fire to figure out what caused it.

The company issued a statement to ABC7 News writing:

“Marathon Petroleum responders extinguished a fire early this morning at the company’s Martinez renewable fuels facility. One employee was injured and transported to a medical facility. Fenceline air monitoring indicated no off-site impact. Regulatory notifications were made. The safety of our employees, contractors, and the surrounding community is our top priority. An investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the incident.”

This refinery is not associated with Martinez Refining Company.