On Saturday, for the third time since November, the Martinez Refining Company released a petroleum refining byproduct into the air.
It’s the second time in 11 days that the company has released coke dust into the city.
Contra Costa Health, or CCH, said that no evidence of material from the release was found in surrounding neighborhoods. In the July 11 release, outdoor surfaces in nearby neighborhoods were coated in the dust.
Lab analysis from the previous release determined that the dust did not contain high levels of toxic metals.
Martinez Refining Company is required to notify the Community Warning System and CCH within 15 minutes of a release. Saturday’s release was reported three minutes after it occurred, according to CCH. On July 11, the refining company notified CCH almost three hours after the incident.
Last November, the refinery did not notify CCH at all after releasing 20-24 tons of spent catalyst – another petroleum refining byproduct – into the air. CCH later found out through media reports.
Toxicologists, who analyzed the November release, determined that it did not create unsafe levels of heavy metal contamination in local soil. But residents still have no official update on the respiratory impacts the November release may have had.
The cause of the latest release is under investigation.
