Latest news with #ContraCosta
CBS News
21 hours ago
- Health
- CBS News
Flaring at Martinez refinery prompts community notification
Flaring at the Martinez Refinery Company early Friday morning prompted a company report to health officials and a subsequent community alert. The refinery said it reported a Level 1 Community Awareness Message to Contra Costa Health at 5:47 a.m. because of the flaring. Following the message, CCH issued a notification telling residents, "You may hear, smell, or see signs related to this event; however no action is required." Flaring at a refinery is a controlled burning of excess or waste gases, primarily hydrocarbons, done as a safety measure to prevent pressure buildup and potential explosions. MRC said that flaring events "are an essential part of a refinery's integrated, engineered safety systems, which are designed to safely manage excess gases and pressure through efficient, effective combustion." In February, a fire at the refinery injured six workers and burned for three days, prompting the refinery to shut down all operations. Earlier this month, an independent report on the fire was released, indicating a lack of qualified contract workers, inadequate training and supervision, and California regulatory issues were among factors leading to the fire. In April, the refinery began restarting some of its process units shut down because of the fire and MRC said it hopes to rebuild the damaged unit and reopen it by the fourth quarter of this year. CCH offers more information on flaring and hazardous materials releases at MRC also provides additional information on flaring at
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Early morning brush fire in Crockett contained; 6 acres burned
Crews contained a 6-acre vegetation blaze in Contra Costa County's town of Crockett early Thursday morning, according to fire officials. The fire was reported shortly before 3 a.m. near San Pablo Avenue and Old County Road, the The Crockett Carquinez Fire Department said on social media. 🚨 Vegetation Fire - Pablo IC Early Thursday, crews from Crockett-Carquinez, Rodeo-Hercules, Con Fire, El Cerrito, EBRPD,... Posted by Crockett Carquinez Fire Department on Thursday, June 5, 2025 Crockett firefighters—with help from the Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, Cal Fire, El Cerrito Fire Department and East Bay Regional Park District—were able to stop the spread by 4 a.m. No injuries or structure damage were reported, according to the Crockett Carquinez Fire Department.
CBS News
04-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Report: Martinez refinery fire caused by inadequate training and monitoring of contractors, California workplace rules
A new report on the fire and chemical release at the Martinez Refinery Company in February blames inadequate training and supervision of contractors, as well as regulatory hurdles that created a lack of qualified workers. Contra Costa Health hired an independent firm to perform a root cause analysis to determine why the fire happened and how it can be prevented from happening again. The Feb. 1 fire lasted for three days, injured six workers, and emitted a host of harmful chemicals, prompting a shelter-in-place alert and public health advisory for the surrounding communities. Consultant JEM Advisors was set to present the report to the CCH's Martinez Refining Company Oversight Committee at its meeting on Tuesday. The report determined that the fire at MRC began when workers mistakenly opened a flange on the wrong side of an isolation valve during maintenance work, leading to the release of hydrocarbon material, which quickly caught fire. Contractor issues resulting from California workplace rules The report concluded that the root cause of the fire was inadequate oversight of the operations and work of the contractors, who had limited organizational capability to perform the work. Their limited capability required increased monitoring and operator oversight, the report said. The report also listed four contributing causes, one of which was regulatory restrictions due to California Senate Bill 54, passed in 2013, and co-employment rules included in Assembly Bill 5, passed in 2019. SB 54 requires companies to use source contractor manpower from local union halls, meaning personnel experienced in refinery unit maintenance from other locations cannot be used, and experienced workers are more difficult to find, the report said. Meanwhile, co-employment rules for contractors prevent MRC from approving contractor safety plans and providing safety training directly to contractors. Instead, the rules require sharing such safety training with contractor company leaders, "with the expectation that contractor employees are fully trained in these prior to working on the refinery site," according to the report. "As a result of these two regulations, there is now a higher likelihood for human errors entering into maintenance work performed by contractor resources," the report stated. Other contributing causes were faulty work procedures, inadequate contractor training because of co-employment rules, and inadequate or missing contractor supervision. Among the issues affecting contractors' ability to perform was the small font on work permits, making them difficult to read, and inadequate procedures to mark or tag locations where work is to be done. Smoke billows from the Martinez Refining Company in Martinez, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2025, during a fire. Tony Hicks/Bay City News Previous incidents at the Martinez Refinery Company New Jersey-based BPF Energy acquired MRC from Royal Dutch Shell in 2020. Since then, there have been three major incidents at the refinery as well as other spills and chemical releases. On Thanksgiving Day in 2022, the refinery mistakenly released more than 20 tons of chemicals into the air, covering cars and homes in metallic dust. In July 2023, the refinery spewed petroleum coke dust, also known as petcoke, prompting a hazardous materials investigation. In February, CCH said the chemicals and combustion byproducts from February's fire and release included those that can cause cancer, and heart and lung disease. In a statement issued at the time, county health director Dr. Ori Tzvieli said it was fortunate the wind blew most of the toxic smoke north of the refinery and away from populated areas. "This could have been much worse," Tzvieli said. "We got lucky this time. But our community shouldn't have to rely on luck." CCH said in February that concentrations of chemicals in the air from the fire were mostly below the threshold considered dangerous, but there was a brief period when the particulate matter near the refinery was at a high level. The agency said it was working with toxicologists to determine whether there were any long-term health impacts from the release, including potential impacts to soil and water. The report from JEM Advisors said MRC has already implemented some changes recommended in the report, such as increasing company personnel presence during contractor maintenance work and reinforcing adherence to existing procedures. Other recommendations include increasing operations oversight, closely reviewing and endorsing safety assessment permits to ensure contractors are aware of risks, and providing consequences for poor performance as well as for excellence.
CBS News
03-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Report: Martinez refinery fire caused by inadequate training and monitoring of contractors, regulatory issues
A new report on the fire and chemical release at the Martinez Refinery Company in February blames inadequate training and supervision of contractors, as well as regulatory hurdles that created a lack of qualified workers. Contra Costa Health hired an independent firm to perform a root cause analysis to determine why the fire happened and how it can be prevented from happening again. The February 1 fire lasted for three days, injured six workers, and emitted a host of harmful chemicals, prompting a shelter-in-place alert and public health advisory for the surrounding communities. Consultant JEM Advisors was set to present the report to the CCH's Martinez Refining Company Oversight Committee at its meeting on Tuesday. The report determined that the fire at MRC began when workers mistakenly opened a flange on the wrong side of an isolation valve during maintenance work, leading to the release of hydrocarbon material which quickly caught fire. The report concluded that the root cause of the fire was inadequate monitoring of the operations and work of the contractors, who had limited organizational capability to perform the work. Such limited capability required increased operator oversight, the report concluded. The report also listed four contributing causes, one of which was regulatory restrictions due to California Senate Bill 54, passed in 2013, and co-employment rules included in Assembly Bill 5, passed in 2019. SB 54 requires companies to use source contractor manpower from local union halls, meaning personnel experienced in refinery unit maintenance shutdowns from other locations cannot be used and experienced workers are more difficult to find, the report said. Meanwhile, co-employment rules for contractors prevent MRC from approving contractor safety plans and providing safety training directly to contractors. Instead, the rules require sharing such safety training with contractor company leaders, "with the expectation that contractor employees are fully trained in these prior to working on the refinery site," according to the report. "As a result of these two regulations, there is now a higher likelihood for human errors entering into maintenance work performed by contractor resources," the report stated. Other contributing causes were faulty work procedures, inadequate contractor training because of co-employment rules, and inadequate or missing contractor supervision. Among the issues affecting contractors' ability to perform was the small font on work permits, making them difficult to read, and inadequate procedures to mark or tag locations where work is to be done. Smoke billows from the Martinez Refining Company in Martinez, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2025, during a fire. Tony Hicks/Bay City News New Jersey-based BPF Energy acquired MRC from Royal Dutch Shell in 2020. Since then, there have been three major incidents at the refinery as well as other spills and chemical releases. On Thanksgiving Day in 2022, the refinery mistakenly released more than 20 tons of chemicals into the air, covering cars and homes in metallic dust. In July 2023, the refinery spewed petroleum coke dust, also known as petcoke, prompting a hazardous materials investigation. In February, CCH said the chemicals and combustion byproducts from February's fire and release included those that can cause cancer, and heart and lung disease. In a statement issued at the time, the county health director said it was fortunate the wind blew most of the toxic smoke north of the refinery and away from populated areas. "This could have been much worse," county health director Dr. Ori Tzvieli said. "We got lucky this time. But our community shouldn't have to rely on luck." CCH said in February that concentrations of chemicals in the air from the fire were mostly below the threshold considered dangerous, but there was a brief period when the particulate matter near the refinery was at a high level. The agency said it was working with toxicologists to determine whether there were any long-term health impacts from the release, including potential impacts to soil and water. The report from JEM Advisors said MRC has already implemented some changes recommended in the report, such as increasing company personnel presence during contractor maintenance work and reinforcing adherence to existing procedures. Other recommendations include increasing operations oversight, closely reviewing and endorsing safety assessment permits to ensure contractors are aware of risks, and providing consequences for poor performance as well as for excellence.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Immigrant rights advocates rally against ICE courthouse arrests in San Francisco
Immigrant rights advocates rallied Wednesday outside San Francisco 's immigration court to condemn the Trump administration's latest deportation tactics and implore asylum-seekers to keep their court dates despite recent arrests. Arrests have been a rarity in or near immigration courts, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week showed up at courthouses across the country to arrest migrants who appeared for routine court proceedings. The move has rattled immigrant communities already feeling pressure from the Republican administration to leave. Eight people were arrested in the San Francisco and Contra Costa County courthouses Tuesday, advocates said. At least one person was arrested last week. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Most of the people in Concord courthouse are asylum-seekers, said Ali Saidi, director of Stand Together Contra Costa, an immigration hotline and rapid response team in the county east of San Francisco. It was unclear who was being targeted and why, but speakers at the rally said agents at both courts had specific names and were not arresting people at random. They did not have details of the people who were arrested. 'It seems to be targeted arrests that they could have done at other locations," Saidi said, 'but chose to do it at the court in order to — it appears — make people afraid to come to court.' Speakers implored immigrants to keep their court dates, because missing a hearing would make them subject to a removal order and deportation. They said lawyers are available, as are volunteers, to accompany them to court.
