Martinez Officials Say Refinery Didn't Notify Them Of Chemical Release

MARTINEZ, CA — Contra Costa Health (CCH) officials say the Martinez Refining Company (MRC) didn't notify them of a possibly harmful 12-hour release of chemicals that started Thanksgiving night last week.

State law and county policy requires MRC to report chemical discharges to CCH within 15 minutes. Health officials said Wednesday that they only found out about the release through social media posts and when they contacted the refinery a day-and-a-half after it started.

Martinez residents found a powdery substance on their cars and around the community on the day after Thanksgiving. The substance was found starting at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday and continued into Friday morning. Samples later taken by CCH showed the "spent catalyst" substance contained higher-than-normal amounts of heavy metals such as aluminum, barium, chromium, nickel, vanadium, and zinc.

Matthew Kaufman, the deputy director of health services for the county, said during a news conference Wednesday that the county would've likely set off its community warning system Thursday night.

"This lack of notice prevents the health department from collecting samples during the release and notifying the public of protective actions, had there been timely notification," Kaufman said. "(The) health department would have likely used the community warning system to (warn) our residents to avoid contact with the dust or powder that was released and to stay indoors."

The health department took samples over the weekend and discovered what was in the release late Monday. County public health director Dr. Ori Tzvieli said there have been no reports of illness related to the release.

"Contra Costa Health does not believe that there's an immediate health risk to the community from this event," Tzvieli said. "Breathing the air containing this material could have caused temporary respiratory symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, eye irritation or immune suppression during the incident and anyone who experienced those or is continuing to experience those should contact their health care provider."
Messages left for representatives of MRC went unreturned as of Wednesday afternoon.

The company said in a post on its Facebook page, "The catalyst had been incinerated at high temperatures to remove impurities for reuse in the refining process and was accidentally released during overnight hours on Thanksgiving night. We are very sorry this release of spent catalyst occurred and apologize to our neighbors who found the material on their vehicles, homes, and buildings. This material can be removed by rinsing with water from surfaces such as patio furniture, driveways, and plants."

The post also said, "Martinez Refining Company representatives have been providing information related to the incident to both the Contra Costa County Health Department and Bay Area Air Quality Management District. We have also been in contact with local public officials, as well as residents and businesses."

Martinez Refining Company has made arrangements with Autopia Car Wash to provide car washes to Martinez residents and businesses in the affected area through this Friday, the company said.

Tzvieli said nearby residents were lucky the release happened while most people were in their homes. He said exposure to the metals found in the release over a long period of time could cause health problems, but "a single event like this would be unlikely to cause any major health problems."

"We will be working with the facility to make sure future exposures like this don't happen again," Tzvieli said. "People should avoid handling or breathing dust that settled on the ground or other surfaces from this incident."

Kaufman said CCH is investigating and charges against the refinery could come from the county District Attorney's Office, or the health department could issue its own penalties.

"We will make sure that we hold Martinez Refining Company responsible for any laws or regulations that may have been neglected during this incident," Kaufman said.

CCH said in a press release, "MRC, owned by PBF Energy, had initially told the community that its own testing of samples collected from the release suggested it was a non-toxic mixture of materials. The company also offered free carwash vouchers to Martinez residents."

More information about the release will be posted at cchealth.org as it becomes available.

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