MARTINEZ, Calif. – The flaring at Martinez Refining Company Friday morning sparked an investigation by Contra Costa Health officials, who expressed concerns about an increase in flaring events since the refinery was investigated in November 2022 following a major chemical release.
“The health department is very concerned that these incidents continue to occur,” said Dr. Contra Costa County Health Director Ori Tzvieli during a briefing Friday about the recent flaring. “In a properly functioning refinery there should be no regular flaring. As we have seen, releases of catalyst and coke dust into the community should not occur.”
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“That's why we are very concerned that there are underlying processes and safety practices at this refinery that are not up to par… It is unacceptable that these sustained releases and flaring events are occurring,” Tzvieli said.
Nicole Heath, director of Contra Costa Health's hazardous materials program, said MRC notified CCH through the county's Community Warning System at about 9:15 a.m. of an incident at the refinery that has no expected off-site consequences.
At the same time, CCH received complaints from residents in the greater Martinez area about a strong odor and deployed its hazardous materials response team to investigate. It later called for the incident to be raised to Level 2 – a level that is expected to have an impact on the community. Tzvieli said this could mean that people with a sensitivity to the smell could experience headaches or other irritation.
Heath found that CCH's air monitoring systems did not indicate gas levels above health advisory levels published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She said the standards are used to determine exposure levels at which there are considered to be public health impacts. The CCH team has conducted readings throughout the community, including at various elementary schools, she added.
Tzvieli said the monitors are detecting low levels of a gas called hydrogen sulfide and noted that it is possible there are other sulfur-containing gases in the air. They may be a byproduct of the refining process, but he said they should not be released.
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Heath expanded the refining process, which requires high temperatures and pressure to convert oils into various gases. Expanding is one way to safely relieve excess pressure. However, she noted that the increase in flare events suggests that units are having problems more often – perhaps a symptom of a deeper problem.
“So when we receive the 72-hour report, our team can investigate the incident and determine whether there are any regulatory violations as a result,” Heath said.
Asked whether the refinery would be closed for non-compliance, CCH officials said it was premature to make such a decision.
“But we are very committed to fully investigating this, understanding the causes and working with the facility to implement safer practices,” Tzvieli said. “Because as I said, this level of publication is unacceptable for our community.”
In a Facebook post Friday morning, MRC, owned by PBF Energy Inc., wrote that the flaring was due to an “operational incident.”
The post states: “We are aware of the odor complaints and are conducting community monitoring to investigate the source. All relevant authorities have been notified and we are working to address these issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our neighbors. Flares are an essential part of a refinery's integrated, engineered safety systems designed to safely manage excess flammable gases by burning them efficiently and effectively.”
MRC officials were not immediately available for further comment on Friday's flaring.
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