Health officials: East Bay oil refinery did not notify them of Thanksgiving night hazardous materials leak
Health officials in Contra Costa County are seeking an explanation as to why they weren’t notified after a hazardous substance leaked into the air from a refinery for several hours starting Thanksgiving night.
In a statement, the county’s Health Service Department said the white powdery substance that was emitted from the Martinez Refining Company site collected higher-than-normal amounts of heavy metals that can cause breathing issues over a long period of time. The refinery, once known as the Shell Oil Refinery, is located in the 3400 block of Pacheco Boulevard and owned by PBF Energy.
The leaked material contained aluminum, barium, chromium, nickel, vanadium and zinc in higher levels than are safe, officials said.
The leak also occurred quietly. The Contra Costa County Community Warning System was not notified by the refinery, authorities said.
“We were lucky that this incident happened late on Thanksgiving and mostly happened in the overnight hours, when most people were not out and exposed to this,” Public Health Director Dr. Ori Tzvielli said Wednesday. “Contra Costa Health does not believe there is a health problem to the community from this.”
A plant upset at the refinery on Nov. 21 caused a series of intermittent flaring to happen at the refinery in the days leading up to the holiday, officials said. On Nov. 24, after flaring in the morning, a “spent catalyst” leaked about 9:30 p.m. It wasn’t stopped until the “early morning hours” on Nov 25, officials said.
According to Matthew Kauffman, the deputy director of health services, health officials did not find out about the leak until Saturday morning, thanks only to social media.
“We were not contacted on the night of Thanksgiving,” Kauffman said. “We became aware of the incident through social media posts on Nov. 26. That’s why the Community Warning System was not activated. … We contacted the refinery. The way we would expect it is that within 15 minutes of an incident, a facility of any type should notify the county health department of the release or suspected release of hazardous material so we can assess the risk to the community.”
Tzvielli said the overall affect of the leak was not a big one; he said EMS reports of respiratory-related calls were “lower than normal.”
When asked why the refinery did not notify the health department, Kaufmann said, “That’s a better question for them.”
The company did not return an message sent Wednesday afternoon through its corporate site.
Health officials said they’ll do an investigation, prepare a report summarizing potential violations and submit it to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. Health officials retain the authority to determine a punishment, even if prosecutors do not choose to file criminal charges, Kauffman said.
“We will hold the company responsible for the lack of notification,” he said.
A statement about the refinery on the Contra Costa Health Service web site said the refinery processes crude oil and other feedstocks for conversion into gasoline. The refinery produces enough gasoline to fill 252,000 cars; enough diesel to fill 13,125 eight-wheel trucks; and enough jet fuel to fill 21 Boeing 747s per day, according to the county.