MUSD Superintendent Was Never Told of Toxic Dust Detected at Junior High from Refinery Accident

Helen Rossi says "the first I heard of the dust model and the impact on MJHS" from Thanksgiving spent catalyst refinery accident was when she watched video of last week's City Council presentation

One of the big revelations from last week’s City Council presentation discussing where toxic dust landed from the Thanksgiving night accident at the Martinez Refining Co. (MRC) was the inclusion of Martinez Junior High School among the sites where “visible dust was observed.”

Among those who learned of the impact of the major chemical accident on the school for the first time was Martinez Unified School District Superintendent Helen Rossi, who viewed the video of the presentation by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District the following day.

During the April 5 presentation, BAAQMD official Phil Martien displayed a map showing both where the heavy metal-laden toxic dust was visibly observed and where computer-based models believe it fell in various concentrations. The fallout map highlighted Martinez Junior High, the Amtrak station and the Martinez Health Center as three sites where the dust was observed.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District dust model map from MRC spent catalyst release. Martinez Junior High is highlighted in yellow.

The computer-based simulation model also put those three sites in the heart of the area where some of the heaviest concentrations of the dust are believe to have landed, based on wind direction and speed at the time. John Muir Elementary was also included in the simulated fallout zone, though the air district map indicated that no visible dust was observed there.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District map showing simulated levels of toxic dust fallout out various locations in Martinez. Martinez Junior High School is highlighted in yellow, and John Muir Elementary, Morello Park Elementary and Las Juntas Elementary are in green. MJHS and John Muir are in zones with significant concentrations of simulated dust.

The dust found at Martinez Junior High came as news to Rossi, who brought it up at Monday’s school board meeting in response to public comments I made on the refinery accident, and went into further detail in response to a follow-up email inquiry from me.

“The first I heard of the dust model and the impact on MJHS was last Thursday morning when I watched the recording of the (BAAQMD) presentation made at the City Council meeting,” Rossi emailed me Wednesday, adding that the only inquiry she had received about the topic as of that morning was from a Los Angeles Times reporter, who published this story. “I heard the Air Quality representative say that the dust ‘was observed,’ but I don't know by whom, where or when.”

Air district and Contra Costa Health Services representatives confirmed to me Thursday that it was the county health department that reported the dust in question. Although the BAAQMD map and Martien’s comments at the City Council meeting referenced the dust being observed at the school site, Contra Costa Health spokesman Karl Fischer said in an email to me Thursday that “an inspector from our hazardous materials program did not observe the material on the school campus, but on a car parked in front of the school” on Nov. 26.

I also asked Rossi to detail what she knew and when about the refinery accident itself, particularly given that MRC did not activate the Community Warning System, as required by law, and originally told the public through a social media post that the dust was non-toxic and contained “no health risks.” That statement was quickly refuted by Contra Costa Health Services, which warned of both “short-term respiratory impacts from breathing in the metals in the hours after the release” and the possibility of “more serious health problems” resulting from exposure to high concentrations of these metals over a long period of time.

“I heard about the release on social media and then in an email from a community member on Nov. 28,” Rossi said. “Although there was no initial evidence of toxicity, and in spite of the rain that occurred a couple of days after, I asked our (maintenance and operations) staff to power wash outdoor play equipment and tables upon their return, Monday.”

Because of the refinery’s failure to activate the Community Warning System, Contra Costa Health officials only learned themselves of the release through social media posts after the incident and got a late start investigating it. After collecting and testing samples of the powdery dust, the health department issued a statement on Nov. 30 saying, “CCH does not believe there is an immediate health risk to the community.” It advised the public at the time to “avoid handling or breathing any remaining dust that has settled on the ground or other surfaces.”

Contra Costa Health acknowledged Thursday that it did not communicate the dust detected on the parked car in front of MJHS directly with school district officials, nor its advisory about avoiding dust that had settled on the ground or other surfaces. Fischer (a former colleague of mine from when we both worked at the East Bay Times many years ago) gave me this statement:

Because Martinez Refining Company did not notify Contra Costa County about the release, as required by law, Contra Costa Health did not learn about it until Nov. 26, 2022, the day after it ended. Inspectors canvassed the entire community on that day to document its extent and collect samples. CCH was in communication with the city of Martinez, the air district and other responding agencies throughout the first hours and days of its investigation, as well as the public via social media [facebook.com] and news media interviews. 

At that time, there was no immediate need for the public to take protective actions based on the information available, no students at the school, and no material documented on school property. CCH did not have a specific instruction for the school district, and so did not send it a specific notification. CCH has promptly released relevant health information related to the incident as it became available, through every communication channel it has, including the Nov. 30 media release you referenced. 

In the months since the release, Contra Costa Health has advised the public not to eat fruits and vegetables planted in soil that may have been impacted by the dust until soil sampling and toxicology tests are complete, expected in mid-May. MJHS also hosts a community garden that is operated by New Leaf Collaborative, Rossi said.

“New Leaf Collaborative is contracted to handle the garden, and they are only ones who host students in the actual garden themselves,” Rossi said in her email to me. “We do not eat the fruit or vegetables from the garden; New Leaf takes it.”

According to the Los Angeles Times article, the produce grown in the New Leaf garden has gone unpicked, and student have been kept away from the soil.

Rossi further said she has met with Martinez police Chief Andrew White to discuss the city’s efforts to improve communications of alerts issued through the Community Warning System and has “had several conversations with the city staff regarding the situation.”

Teachers of the Year

At Monday’s school board meeting, the district honored its teachers of the year. Paula Parker of John Muir Elementary was named district Teacher of the Year and will move forward to the Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year competition.

In introducing Parker as MUSD Teacher of the Year, Director of Personnel Services Caroline Cota noted her work in establishing and managing a student-operated “green team” at John Muir, volunteering her class once a week for community service trash pickup and and developing a book-reading room on campus, among other efforts.

“She has dedicated herself to becoming a lifelong educator and learner, and she strives to instill a similar desire in all students she works with,” Cota said.

Other certificated employees honored were:

Isaac Raymond, Alhambra High School

Candace Monroe-Speed, Martinez Jr. High School

Jessica Whitlatch, Las Juntas Elementary

Cindy Courtney, Morello Park Elementary

Michele (Shelly) Gonzalez, John Swett Elementary

Paula Marchese-Caccamo, Vicente Martinez High School/Briones

Leif Williams, Martinez Adult Education

The presentation of the awards and rest of the board meeting can be viewed here:

Congratulations to all!

Editor’s note: Freelance reporter Tom Lochner is attending Thursday night’s Mt. View Sanitary District board meeting, where directors are expected to vote on the proposed rate increases detailed in this report. Look for a post on the meeting and decision within the next few days.