After several months of concerns over contaminated soil, Contra Costa County health officials announced Thursday that it is now safe for Martinez residents to eat foods grown in backyard gardens.
Eight months ago, failures in the pollution control systems at PBF Energy’s Martinez Refining Company caused a cloud of dust -– containing heavy metals — to fall over the city of Martinez. Beginning in March, Martinez residents were told not to eat anything grown in backyard gardens over concerns that the soil could contain toxins.
The 20 to 24 tons of dust released by the refinery last November contained metals, such as chromium and nickel, that are used to process crude oil.
Contra Costa County health authorities hired a team of toxicologists, who tested samples from across 12 miles of land, to determine whether food grown in local soil was safe to eat.
Health officials stated that levels of lead and arsenic found in the soil samples were not high enough to pose health concerns and were not linked to the November incident.
During Thursday’s announcement, residents said they also wanted information about the possible long-term health risks associated with inhaling the dust last November.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the problems that caused the refinery to release the dust into the air. The Environmental Protection Agency and the FBI are also probing the incident under the Clean Air Act. The investigations are also looking into why residents were not informed until a few days after the dust was released.
