RICHMOND — A process upset unit at the Chevron refinery Sunday sent flames, smoke and foul odors into rain-soaked West Contra Costa County skies.
A Richmond city public-safety alert sent at 9:06 a.m. said excess flaring began at the refinery at 8:25 a.m. and was ongoing.
Social-media reports from observers took note of the flaring.
Here’s the super obscured pic – that’s TWO emergency flares, which would have massive black clouds of smoke if not for the rain washing all the emissions out of the sky and into the neighborhoods of the fence line communities… pic.twitter.com/kUH3dfiJ3H
— Matt Renner (@Matthew4300) October 24, 2021
.@supejohngioia Can smell strong odd smell outdoors (I’m in Pinole) can you look into it? Called @PGE4Me they say they are getting reports from San Pablo, Pinole, Richmond. Related to @Chevron flaring maybe?
— Dr. Catherine Cronquist Browning (@cat_c_b) October 24, 2021
UPDATE at 3:45 pm: @AirDistrict says Chevron flaring is due to issues in cogeneration unit causing upsets in other units.Flaring has been both constant&intermittent. Call District Odor line at 1-800-334-ODOR to register a complaint if you see or smell it. @CoCoHealth monitoring pic.twitter.com/Vw6ft79Rgm
— John Gioia (@supejohngioia) October 24, 2021
In a social-media post at 3:45 p.m., Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia described the flaring as “both constant and intermittent,” and added that Contra Costa Health Services were monitoring the incident and residents who see or smell related odors should call 1-800-334-ODOR to register a complaint.
In a statement Sunday, Chevron spokesman Brian Hubinger said the refinery was experiencing intermittent flaring due to a process unit upset.
“Our workforce is working to minimize and stop the flaring. A Community Warning System Level 1 – one of the lowest on the scale – was issued earlier to keep residents informed,” Hubinger said in part.
According to this news organization’s reporting, the refinery saw multiple flaring reports within the last year, including this May and last August and November. In July, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s board voted to require Chevron Richmond Refinery and a separate refinery in Martinez to use “wet gas scrubbers” to clean up hazardous particulate matter.
Anyone with questions may call the refinery’s general number at 510-242-2000, ask about specific noises or odors at 510-242-2127, visit the refinery’s air-monitoring site at https://www.richmondairmonitoring.org or e-mail richmondrefineryinfo@chevron.com.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
Source: www.mercurynews.com