March 26 refinery “material release” remains under investigation…
A black plume erupted from a flare tower at the Valero Benicia Refinery March 26, prompting a voluntary shelter-in-place order from the city. Photo taken in the Hillcrest neighborhood by Benicia resident and small business owner, Jamie Jang.
The Benicia Bridge, By Laura López González & Monica Vaughan, April 18, 2026
Valero delayed reporting the March 26 flare-tower “material release,” which remains under investigation by several agencies. The plant may not have reported the flaring to state authorities at all, had it not been for Solano County officials’ urging.
A distinctive black plume from one of Valero’s three flare stacks made local headlines in March. Unsure of what was being spilled into the air, Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick issued a voluntary shelter-in-place warning for the city, as previously reported by The Benicia Bridge. NBC News reported that about two dozen Valero workers were sent to the hospital with chemical burns caused by cleaning chemicals involved in the incident. Company officials denied that happened.
Reposted with permission, The Benicia Bridge Excellent reporting from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. – Roger Straw Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here.
Final Community Advisory Panel meeting: Who will respond if there is trouble?
The stacks at Benicia’s Valero refinery have gone cold but layoffs during company’s transition away from refining have also cost the plant its dedicated fire brigade.
Valero laid off its refinery firefighters in Benicia. Now, company executives have said they hope to rely on the Benicia Fire Department, contractors, and neighboring refineries to provide the manpower needed to tackle a future fire.
Valero completed its latest round of layoffs this week, leaving about 70 employees, General Manager Lauren Bird said Tuesday at the refinery’s final community advisory panel meeting. About 20 employees will be left alongside contractors as the plant continues to import, store and distribute gas and diesel in the near future. The company will no longer import jet fuel through Benicia, citing easier routes to support airports, Valero Section Business Law Chief David Giles said at the meeting. Valero will use a fraction of its tanks for storage.
Reposted with permission, The Benicia Bridge Excellent reporting from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. – Roger Straw Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here.
For the first time in nearly 60 years, Benicia’s refinery stacks have gone quiet as Valero has officially stopped refining at the plant, general manager and vice president, Lauren Bird, confirmed Tuesday.
About 60 employees are expected to remain at the Benicia refinery following another round of layoffs Wednesday — a fraction of the roughly 400 employees once employed at the refinery.
Bird said about 20 employees will ultimately be left at the facility after the layoffs conclude. These workers — alongside contractors — will help Valero continue importing, storing, and distributing gasoline and diesel fuel, Bird said.
Story by Laura López González of The Benicia Bridge. This excellent reporting comes from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. Their online publication is The Benicia Bridge. – Roger Straw Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here. Reach out to the Benicia Bridge via their About page.
The health problems caused by refineries are well-established. What about tank farms?
Valero Benicia 2023-09-21 M_do_Nascimento KQEDRichard Fleming, M.D., Benicia, CA
For the Benicia Independent, by Richard Fleming, M.D., Benicia resident and author, April 7, 2026
With the Valero refinery shutting down, a number of options are being considered for what to do with the property. One possibility is turning the location into a “tank farm,” a place which stores petroleum products in massive tanks. The health problems caused by refineries are well-established. But what are the health risks of tank farms? Are there reasons we should be worried about a tank farm being set up in our city? And should our city government be concerned about the possible public health impact of a tank farm replacing the refinery?
Good studies have been done looking at the potential health risks of tank farms. While they tend to be a bit less harmful to surrounding communities than refineries, they do present potential health problems we should all be aware of.
The two major areas of concern with tank farms are the risks they can send toxic chemicals into the air and the potential they can leak toxic materials into the land they sit on and into nearby groundwater systems. Let’s look briefly at each problem.
Emissions. Oil storage tanks produce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and others. Many of these chemicals are carcinogenic. As is true of refineries, when these emissions enter the air, they have an adverse impact on surrounding communities.
How do dangerous emissions happen at tank farms, given that they are just large tanks storing petroleum products? One of the main ways happens when additional oil or gasoline is being pumped into a partially filled storage tank. This inevitably leads to the densely-concentrated vapors inside the tank being pushed out into the air. These emissions are full of toxic VOCs. VOCs can also be emitted during pumping itself, as well as through leaking seals, vents, and fittings in the tanks themselves. It is impossible to guarantee that tanks will never have any possible breaches leading to toxic emissions.
Chemical leakage. Various factors can lead to the petroleum-based liquids stored in tanks leaking into surrounding soil and water. Corrosion of tank walls can create leaks, and these can be hard to detect until significant outflow has already occurred. Operational errors during filling or draining procedures can lead to leaks. Defective welds can leak.
Natural disasters like flooding and earthquakes can lead to massive leaks. The Valero property is at significant risk of flooding during massive storms, and these seem to be happening more frequently every decade. Sea level rise itself also puts the Valero property at risk of flooding, especially since some of the land is at or below sea level. And we all know that our state is at risk for major earthquakes.
The risk from leakage into groundwater is especially concerning because, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, one gallon of gasoline can contaminate one million gallons of water.
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So what is the take-home message? Establishing a tank farm on the Valero property would likely be somewhat less risky for public health than an operating refinery, but tank farms still pose major potential problems for Benicians and nearby communities. Since there are many other uses which could be developed on the Valero property after it is cleaned up, why not move towards safer development?
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