14 Feb Air District Began Getting Reports About Martinez Refinery Hours Before Fire

Heavy smoke billows from the Martinez refinery on Feb. 1. (Tony Hicks / Bay City News)

By Tony Hicks
Bay City News

The Bay Area Air District began getting complaints about odor coming from Martinez Refinery Company hours before a fire started earlier this month.

In an incident report posted on its website, the district said it got its first complaint nearly three hours before the fire started — at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Feb. 1 — about an “oily refinery smell” in Martinez. It received a second odor complaint at 11:56 a.m., also about the refinery. It received a third complaint at 1:05 p.m. about an “oil and gas smell.”

A message left for refinery owner PBF Energy Inc. on Friday morning wasn’t immediately returned.

Early reports said the refinery was experiencing flaring before the fire started.

At 1:45 p.m., the air district initiated an incident response to these complaints. At 1:49 p.m., the district received a Contra Costa County Community Warning System Level 2 alert filed by MRC regarding a fire in the light oil processing area of the refinery.
Contra Costa Health said on its website that the air district’s samples taken during the fire were consistent with findings from Contra Costa Health — cancer-causing chemicals in the air north of the refinery were above “historical background levels.”

The district took three samples on Feb. 1-2 — the first two days of the three-day fire — at two locations: at the Marina Vista Avenue/Waterfront Road off-ramp from northbound Interstate Highway 680 and Waterfront Road near the I-680 off-ramp.

According to the county health department, which analyzed the air district’s findings, the district found above normal levels of benzine (a known carcinogen) and 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, also known as pseudocumene.

County health officials in a report on the department’s website said the chemicals “may have presented a health concern during the incident.”

“The results are consistent with what county health officials observed in the field the day of the incident that triggered the shelter-in-place warning north of the refinery at 4:48 PM, which was lifted later that evening when air quality significantly improved,” CCH said in the report. “Based on the chemical information provided to CCH from MRC and air sampling results, we are actively working with an independent toxicologist to determine whether any additional analyses related to air, soil or water as a result of the release are needed.”

The air district showed three citations on its website that were issued to MRC; one for visible emissions and odor caused by the fire, one for visible emissions and fallout exceeding standards, and another for not operating equipment as needed.

An explosion and fire were reported at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, when two workers opened equipment to prepare for planned maintenance on one of the refinery’s process units, which was shut down Jan. 30.

MRC said hydrocarbon material started to leak, causing workers to evacuate the area. The material caught fire, which spread within the immediate vicinity.

Both workers were transported offsite for medical evaluation and released. Four other workers were also injured, though none seriously, the refinery said.

County officials issued a shelter-in-place alert at 4:49 p.m. for specific neighborhoods near the refinery, then lifted the alert about 9 p.m. Contra Costa’s Community Warning System issued a Level 3 alert, the most severe in its four-tier system, which begins at Level 0.

Air district officials arrived at the refinery around 2:20 p.m. By 7:30 p.m., the district said it received and responded to 30 complaints from the community about odor and smoke.

The district said its investigation of the fire is ongoing and the agency will provide additional updates when it obtains further information.

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