What to Know about the Pending Investigation into the Martinez Refinery Hazardous Materials Accident

Oversight Committee will consist of county health, city of Martinez, refinery management and labor representatives, along with five community members

Contra Costa Health Services received the green light this week to launch an independent investigation into the Thanksgiving night release of a toxic, metal-laden dust from the Martinez Refining Co. The investigation, authorized by the Contra Costa Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) Ad Hoc Committee headed by county supervisors John Gioia and Federal Glover, will look at both the root causes of the incident, including the refinery’s failure to report it through the Community Warning System, as well as the short- and long-term health and environmental consequences of the release through a “community exposure/risk assessment.”

Officials and residents who attended Thursday’s meeting expressed an urgency to begin the investigation as soon as possible, specifically to try to ascertain the health impacts on residents, several of whom have complained of respiratory and other health problems in the weeks since the incident and have expressed anxiety over both their welfare and that of their loved ones. Concerns have also focused on the impact the metals in the dust may have had on soil in household gardens where residents grow and consume their own produce.

As has been the case with other public meetings since the “spent catalyst” release, Thursday’s committee meeting included scores of comments from Martinez residents and environmental advocates alarmed about the accident and the failure of Martinez Refining Co. (owned by PBF Energy) to promptly notify the public and local health officials about what had happened. There were also some important updates and developments delivered by county health officials.

Martinez Refining Co., owned by PBF Energy

Highlights from the meeting:

• The investigation will be carried out by an oversight committee that will be chaired by a representative from Contra Costa Health Services. The committee will also include a representative from the city of Martinez, refinery management, a refinery labor union and five community members (which may be residents of both the city and the unincorporated area surrounding the refinery). Community members interested in serving on the committee should contact the Office of Supervisor Glover to express their interest. Because multiple unions represent workers at the refinery, there was some discussion about potentially expanding the labor representation on the committee, and Glover (Martinez’s representative on the Board of Supervisors) said that question would be explored.

• The investigation will be two-pronged. One focus will be the root causes of the incident, both technical and human, and what factors need to be addressed to prevent it from happening again; and the other will assess both the short- and long-term effects of the release on public health and the environment. Mayor Brianne Zorn expressed her opinion at the meeting that the exposure/risk assessment aspect of the investigation should be the higher priority, given the widespread concerns expressed by residents about the impacts of the release on their health.

• Refinery manager Daniel Ingram, as he did during a town hall meeting last month, apologized during his public comments for the refinery’s failures regarding the release and pledged to work with the county and other relevant agencies in a transparent manner on the investigation. “We’re not looking to cover anything up or sweep anything under the rug,” he said. He said the refinery is conducting its own internal investigation that it hopes to complete within the next 30 days that will look at the technical issues related to release of the spent catalyst, the refinery’s failure to activate the Community Warning System and immediately notify county health officials and the public, and any human factors that may have contributed to the accident. He said the refinery will share results of its internal review with county officials, who he assumes will then make the findings public. He also added that the refinery was revising its internal processes to ensure that a Community Warning System alert is automatically activated anytime spent catalyst is released into the community in the future, regardless of the level (or “opacity”) of the release.

• County health officials emphasized that they don’t yet know the long-term health consequences from the release of the metal-laden dust and that it will be a top priority during the investigation. They plan to hire a contractor with expertise in toxicology and enlist experts in other scientific disciplines relevant to determining the long-term health and environmental implications from the release, which the county has labeled a major chemical accident. The investigation will include water, soil and air testing.

• The Bay Area Area Quality Management District and Cal-OSHA (which investigates worker-safety issues) are conducting their own investigations into the spent catalyst release, according to officials who attended the meeting. The air quality district is also looking into the significant flaring event at the refinery on Dec. 9 that caused widespread community alarm (including many 911 calls) when towering flames were seen lighting up the night sky.

• Officials said the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which conducted a thorough investigation of a major fire at Chevron’s Richmond refinery in 2012, has indicated that it does not plan to investigate the MRC incident (several community members urged during public comments that the CSB get involved). County officials emphasized that they have no influence over the CSB, which is an independent federal agency that makes its own determination of which chemical accidents to investigate based on internal reviews.

• The hazardous materials division of Contra Costa Health plans to conduct a safety audit of the refinery within the next month or so, acting under the authority of the county’s Industrial Safety Ordinance. Comprehensive refinery audits/inspections are typically conducted every three years, but Nicole Heath, the division’s acting director, said that in light of this incident, the county will conduct a special review. “We won’t be waiting until 2024 for the normal audit,” she said. As I reported in a previous post, a 2021 audit of the refinery, conducted shortly after its sale from Shell to PBF, documented several safety deficiencies and noted that there had been a large number of retirements among refinery personnel since the change in ownership. It also noted that staffing of the refinery’s operations department had been reduced “based on the strategy from the new organization PBF Energy.” That audit can be viewed here. Heath said the planned safety audit will include such factors as worker fatigue and employee staffing levels.

CORRECTION: My Thursday post on Satinder Malhi’s appointment to the City Council initially had the wrong day of the meeting; it was Wednesday, not Tuesday. Also, the post initially said that Brianne Zorn is the city’s first female mayor; she’s actually the second female mayor (after Rosalie Benson in the 1960s) but the first one who was directly elected by voters to the office. During Benson’s time, the position rotated among sitting council members.

Thanks to readers who take the time to point out any errors they see in my posts. If you see something that appears inaccurate, feel free to say so in the comments or email me directly as craig.lazzeretti@gmail.com

NOTES: I’m going to be taking a break from the newsletter over the next week, but, thanks to the generous support from readers who have purchased paid subscriptions, I’ve enlisted a veteran journalist who will be monitoring Wednesday’s City Council meeting for me. I hope to have a post from the meeting sometime the week of Jan. 22. In addition to the regular meeting starting at 7, there will be a special study session at 6 p.m. on plans for the waterfront and marina. Both meetings will be held in person and on Zoom. You can access the agendas here. Of note, these will be the first meetings since the December installation of new council members with a full council, after Santinder Malhi’s appointment to the vacant District 3 seat, and will also feature the first report from new Police Chief Andrew White. For those who can’t attend meetings live, videos are available on the city website after the fact.

Thanks again to everyone who has chosen to support the newsletter financially over the past week, as well as those who continue to support it by reading and sharing it. I’ve been overwhelmed by the level of support I’ve received since launching this experiment during the election. The newsletter remains open to paid subscriptions or one-time donations (feel free to contact me at craig.lazzeretti@gmail.com to arrange for a one-time contribution, which will save on Substack’s processing fees).

Finally, I hope everyone takes a moment on Monday to reflect on the life and legacy of Martin Luther King. Jr. as we mark the holiday created in his honor and the long, unfinished work toward creating a just society for all people of this country, free of discrimination, racism and other biases. Our city continues to make strides in these efforts, but much work remains.