Tag Archives: Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia CA, Benicia Fire Department, Benicia Herald, Benicia Industrial Park, Stephen Golub, Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia Herald columnist Stephen Golub’s questions about Valero’s ‘Hydrogen Sulfide Saturday’

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub.

By Stephen Golub, first appearing in the Benicia Herald on March 1, 2024

Before I start, here’s a reminder that ON MARCH 5 AT 6 PM THE BENICIA CITY COUNCIL WILL HEAR A BRIEF REPORT ON A COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE’S PROGRESS IN CRAFTING AN INDUSTRIAL SAFETY ORDINANCE (ISO) FOR BENICIA. THIS PRESENTS A CHANCE TO SPEAK OUT IN FAVOR OF A STRONG ISO THAT WILL ENABLE THE CITY TO BETTER PREVENT, MONITOR AND ADDRESS DANGEROUS EVENTS AT TEXAS-BASED VALERO’S REFINERY HERE, RANGING FROM POISONS IN THE AIR TO POTENTIAL EXPLOSIONS AT THE FACILITY. You can attend and voice your support in person at or via Zoom. The link to the meeting’s agenda and Zoom is at https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/agendas.

By the way, a big thanks to Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick and our Fire Department for their efforts to alert Benicians about Saturday’s incident at the Valero Refinery, particularly since it resulted in the release of the dangerous neurotoxin Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) into our air. While, as suggested below, the incident and the reporting more than ever demonstrate the need for an ISO, those efforts are nonetheless appreciated.

Thanks, too, to the Valero personnel who labored to clean up that mess, perhaps at risk to their own health. Of course, this does not let the Valero refinery or the corporation’s Texas headquarters off the hook for this dangerous event  – or for many other accidents and violations. But the workers who work to mitigate such harm merit praise. In fact, an ISO could benefit them as well as the rest of us.

So far, based on some very good reporting by Benicia Herald editor Galen Kusic and other sources, we have some initial knowledge about what happened. But dozens of questions remain.

For now, I’ll just address a few questions mainly raised by Kusic’s February 28 article and data shared by the Benicia Community Air Monitoring Program (BCAMP), a local non-profit that (as its website states) “has been established to monitor local air quality in real-time, operate a website, and provide education on health as related to air quality.” (For more information on BCAMP, here’s the group’s site: https://www.fenceline.org/bcamp/)

  1. As Kusic’s article states, “It isn’t clear as to why alerts went out at 7:40 a.m. when H2S was discovered on Tank 1738 at 6:08 a.m. and H2S was detected in the air as early as 4:30 a.m.” In fact, as noted by BCAMP, Valero’s own monitoring system indicated alarming levels of H2S in the air as early as 4 a.m. And BCAMP data indicates a spike in H2S hours earlier than that.

So why the delay in alerting the public?

  1. What’s more, the current (and quite weak) City of Benicia – Valero Cooperation Agreement incorporates the requirement that the Benicia Fire Department must be notified immediately if there is a release or a threatened release of a hazardous substance that could harm people’s health. It certainly does not sound like Valero provided immediate notification – which to my simple mind, means as soon as possible.

Why was that the case?

  1. As stated in the Herald article, when asked about the delay, “Valero Benicia Refinery Director of Community Relations and Government Affairs Paul Adler responded, ‘In order to answer your first question, I suggest that you review the Public Information website along with that policy which defines the requirements of notifications.’”

I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer a straightforward answer to a straightforward inquiry about an urgent public health matter, rather than being shunted off to a website.

Why not provide that?

  1. Did the first information the Fire Department received about the incident come from the public reporting the “rotten eggs” odor of H2S in the air or from Valero? And if not Valero, why was that the case?

5.  BCAMP data reported an alarming spike in H2S in the air during the late afternoon on Saturday, supposedly after the worst of the incident had passed. Were we safe at that time?

I’ll note that I know one individual whose asthma was apparently greatly aggravated by this incident (though this is not a matter of medical certainty) and two others who reported feeling ill, all on the west side of town. Not scientific proof of danger, but not something to be ignored.

Again, these are just a few questions prompted by Valero’s release of H2S on Saturday. Coming on top of many Valero violations and other incidents, they point to the need for a far stronger way of protecting the safety and health of our kids, our seniors and our entire community. We can start by showing support for an ISO at the City Council meeting on March 5.

Other reporting on this recent refinery incident:

Benicia Fire Department, Benicia Herald, Benicia Industrial Park, Valero Benicia Refinery

Benicia Herald on Valero Refinery spill of toxic Hydrogen Sulfide

[Note from BenIndy: The Benicia Herald  does not have an online edition but this Wednesday, February 28 article by Galen Kusic, editor, represents the best and most complete coverage of the Valero incident last weekend, including reactions from local representatives for Valero and our own elected officials. Supporting local journalism is crucial for ensuring communities are informed and facilitates transparency and accountability during important local events like this one. You can subscribe to the Herald by email at beniciacirculation@gmail.com or by phone at 707-745-6838.]

Benicia Valero Refinery spill of hydrocarbon releases Hydrogen Sulfide; odor smelled throughout Benicia

Valero’s Benicia Refinery on January 25, 2024. | Galen Kusic.

By Galen Kusic, Editor, The Benicia Herald, February 28, 2024

On Sat. Feb. 24 at 7:40 a.m., the City of Benicia reported that Benicia Fire Department was working with the Benicia Valero Refinery “on mitigating an odor coming from the refinery.” The source, which was reported as “refined hydrocarbon” was actually Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), a dangerous neurotoxin.

According to the mandatory 72-hour report provided by Valero Benicia Refinery, between 5:30 and 6 a.m., Benicia Dispatch informed Valero of three odor complaints, and the Refinery received two inquiries related to odors smelled in the community. Residents noticed the strong odor throughout Benicia ranging from neighborhoods near Southampton, First St. and the lower east side.

As stated in the report, refinery operations began investigating the source of the odor and identified hydrocarbon on the roof of Valero Refinery’s Tank 1738 at approximately 6:08 a.m. Valero activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) around 7:48 a.m. and cleanup efforts began at approximately 1 p.m. Prior to the event, refinery operations were following emergency shutdown procedures to safely posture a unit that included transferring material to Tank 1738. The bulk of the material on the roof of the tank, currently estimated to contain less than 83 gallons of refined hydrocarbon, was removed by Sat. evening.

Levels of H2S spiked between 5:30 and 8:30 a.m., with levels reaching a maximum five minute average around 400 ppb (parts per billion) and a maximum one hour average around 142 ppb, according to data from the refinery’s fenceline website at www.beniciarefineryairmonitors.org.

“It was a very low level,” said Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick. “Dangerous levels are at 50,000 ppb and we start to get concerned at 1,000 ppb.”

To put that in perspective, those numbers are more than twice the level Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists as an acute Minimum Risk Level (MRL) of 70 ppb over an hour period. The Reference Exposure Level (REL) determined by California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) for H2S is 30 ppb over an hour period.

In the report it states, “A REL is an airborne concentration level of a chemical at or below which no adverse health effects are anticipated for a specified exposure duration. RELs are based on the most sensitive, relevant, adverse health effect reporting in the medical and toxicological literature and are designed to protect the most sensitive individuals in the population by the inclusion of margins of safety.”

Two separate flaring incidents at Valero were reported by Benicia Fire Department on Feb. 18 at 12:39 a.m. and Feb. 23 at 8:30 p.m. Ongoing intermittent flaring that exceeded the 500 lbs. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) reporting threshold occurred as part of the unit shutdown. According to Valero, the flaring did not contribute to the community odors.

After detecting the odor, Valero provided communication to the City of Benicia and other appropriate agencies and cleanup efforts were initiated to abate the odor. The City of Benicia Fire Department responded as a member of the EOC and also conducted air quality testing using their portable air monitors at multiple points throughout the City. Refinery personnel continued to clean off the material also referred to as “slop” from the tank roof until there wasn’t enough daylight to continue.

The refinery continued to spot clean the remaining residue on the tank roof and expected to have that activity completed by Mon. evening. Samples are being taken of the containers that are holding the material removed from the roof to obtain a more accurate estimate on the amount of oil.

“The strong smell has dissipated,” said Chadwick. “There is currently no health hazard.”

An investigation is underway to determine how the hydrocarbon material got onto the tank. A summary of the investigation will be provided to the Fire Chief once it is completed. Chadwick estimates the investigation can take up to a month.

Valero Refinery is also required to submit a 30-Day Investigation Report with root cause analysis. The 30-Day report will be posted publicly when available. In addition, Solano County Environmental Health will work in conjunction with the City of Benicia to perform a full incident investigation report that will also be released publicly.

It isn’t clear as to why alerts went out at 7:40 a.m. when H2S was discovered on Tank 1738 at 6:08 a.m. and H2S was detected in the air as early as 4:30 a.m. When this question was posed to Valero Benicia Refinery Director of Community Relations and Government Affairs Paul Adler, he responded.

“In order to answer your first question, I suggest that you review the Public Information Bank website along with that policy which defines the requirements of notifications,” he said.

In the Valero Cooperation Agreement, it states that “immediate notification is required in all Level-1 through Level-3 incidents. This was categorized as a Level-3 incident, but nowhere in the agreement does it describe what actual time frame constitutes “immediate notification.”

While the City noted in an update on Sat. evening that the smell was dissipating, driving by the Valero Refinery at 1:30 p.m. on Mon. on I-680 the smell was still strong. According to the City, Solano County Public Health only recommended to shelter in place if the odor smell was too strong and/or if it was “aggravating.”

When asked about further updates on Sun., Mayor Steve Young responded, “I don’t sorry,” but noted that he was meeting with Chadwick and City Manager Mario Giuliani on Mon.

“Hopefully I will have more information then,” he said. Young did not respond for further comment by press time Tue.

There were no injuries associated with the event, and no reports of offsite injuries or property damage have been reported.

Other reporting on this recent refinery incident:

Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Benicia CA, Valero Benicia Refinery

When refineries break the rules, they pay fines – but these fines rarely reach impacted communities. Time to speak up!

[Note from BenIndy: Take the $1.2 million penalty Valero must pay for major flaring incidents at the Benicia Refinery in 2017 and 2019, for example. These incidents directly impacted the health and safety of Benicia residents, and yet it’s possible that Benicia may never see a dime of that penalty. Why? What can be done to ensure that communities directly, immediately, and tangibly impacted by negative health and safety situations created by refineries are directly, immediately, and tangibly compensated? Frequent BenIndy Contributor Kathy Kerridge got in touch with the following.]

Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty.

ATTENTION to everyone who would like to see refinery penalties go to the community

We’ve all been waiting for the time when we can have input about how penalty fines from refineries can get back to the local community.

On Thursday, January 18, at 6:00 pm, the Community Advisory Council of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) will hear from the Air District staff about possibilities.

This is your chance to weigh in on what should happen to the fines the refineries pay when they pollute our air, and how much of the fines will be returned to the local community.

Here is the link to information about the meeting:

Advisory Council Meeting Re.: Penalty Funds

 There will be community input.

The meeting will be both in person in SF and on Zoom.  I hope that people who are concerned about this can go into the meeting in person. If not, please plan to attend by Zoom.

This is particularly important for all refinery communities.  These fines have been substantial, and we want to make sure that the communities that have been harmed at least benefit from some these penalties.

Please spread the word.  Contact kathykerridge@gmail.com if you have questions or if you would like to try to carpool or go together on BART.

Kathy Kerridge
BCAMP Board Member
Good Neighbor Steering Committee
Progressive Democrats of Benicia Chair

SEE ALSO:

Air Monitoring, Valero Benicia Refinery

Valero to host public Community Information Night tomorrow, Tues., Dec. 12, at 4:30pm

[Note from BenIndy: Benicia residents have received an invitation from Valero’s Community Advisory Panel (CAP) to learn about refinery operations and engage refinery representatives in a Q&A session at the upcoming Community Information Night. It’s imperative that Benicians who are interested in the refinery and its operations take the time to attend this rare public meeting. Please see the image below for the full ad – and, if you plan on going, be aware the meeting room can be hard to find.  Look below the ad and you will see a map we created to help newcomers get to the right place. A contact phone number and email address for this meeting are on the flyer as well. Unfortunately, there are no options to attend this meeting remotely.]

Valero’s Community Advisory Panel (CAP) invites Benicia residents to learn about operations at the Benicia Refinery

 

Read more! As Air Quality is so essential to our health, you might want to check out these resources: