drafting this since july and oct 2019 when i started to see a emissions/pollution and dust/health pattern and looked deeper into it, then held onto it longer to compile my video evidence collected since 2017 into 'exhibit A' (see link below) and outlining this story. this whole post ideally evolves into a video targeted at media/activists, but for now it's a quick draft quick study for others with symptoms, friends and family. since then, due, i've twice lost my last 50+ edits in gmail (due to driver/os hickups), so gotta share this now, now that we have a fresh layer of refinery dust, low air quality, and the knot/swell in my throat thickens (and after 3 visits to ER for that and 'bp spiking' in first 5 weeks of 2020 which reinforce the ongoing pattern).
also below, after stating the problem, is a rare industrial solution to the problem of refinery flaring acid pollution, one that could be mandated if regulators actually served its residents and weren't whitewash agents shielding industry much like the media does. amazingly, it is one of the few cases where a chinese group appears to have beat the west to market a solution.
before i could get this out, an even newer episode of the same repeat pattern started recurring mid jan 2020, resulting in 3 visits to ER in the first 5 weeks of 2020, with the same symptoms i checked into ER in 2016 and 2019. all 5 visits occur in tandem with 2-3 weeks of less than ideal air quality (over 40% polluted/baqi) and high numbers of daily roadkill. they all occur days after refinery flarings and in the first 6 weeks of the year as the five refineries restart post holiday shutdowns for maintenance, which involves sending tons of gases to the flares which release poison gas and acid deposit pollution particulates that lead to related health issues nearby and 15+ miles away.
refineries emit pollutants daily, since 2000 evermore so, but they also flare on average 3x/month and whenever there are power/equipment/process upsets so it's not all that mysterious why bay area air is so frequently and consistently bad year-round. at least since ramping production post 2000.
oil refinery emissions and smokestack flares are prime suspects exacerbating my health status year-round, landing me in ER 5x in 5 years. it's a clear repeating pattern (see below).
and it's not just the refineries causing 90% of bay area pollutants, the landfills and chemical/energy plants also dump gas to flares, but the refineries are mega polluters adversely affecting bay area health very visibly since 2000. and i'm not a socialist, i'm pro-oil pro-nuclear pro-competition pro-freemarket capitalism with sensible safety, public health, ecological regulations. and i'm a real ecology conservative, dont believe co2 is bad at all - know it's as key to life and a thriving ecology as oxygen and h20, dont trust any climate alarmist who blames mankind or average joe, meat-eating, or burning of fossil fuels, and grasp that wetlands/landfills are sinking. meanwhile, acid deposit aka rain dust dew fog is very real tangible and deadly, it's produced when gases are dumped to the flares, it's toxic and exacerbates health issues for the most vulnerable/sensitive 5-10% sending some of us to medical clinics and ER.
[october 2019]
the pattern just repeated, again within days of flaring at two nearby refineries cars all covered in an extra layer of greasy dust grimy aerosol that wipes up black, so i look up refinery flaring: bazinga. and i had my first dizzy spell with more intense headaches since the last flaring event. coincidence uncanny.
so after taking a few photos of cars with same deposits, i merged my health symptoms with the refinery flaring timeline and they line up squarely to support an easy to see link to flaring events/pollution. this confirms what i suspected: the perpetual medium-grade pollution normalized in the bay area since 2000 relates to continuous refineries (and landfills and chemical/energy plants) exceeding daily limits on a near daily basis incl. visible and non-visible 'flaring' that lead to the greasy dust-dew-mist acid deposit covering surfaces 15+ miles away. all the pink haze and acid dust covering everything, all the bad air quality, it's all mostly from gas/oil refinery activity year-round, wildfires or not.
- a 2002 audit found local plant/refineries are quasi-flaring 24/7 with pilots, and emitting in other ways, and putting 100x more pollutants into the air than reported, 100x more than state regulators estimated and that is used to fine them for emission violations. they frequently, near nightly, send thousands of pounds of acid gases to the flares which then get converted and released as acid deposit and travel 15+ miles far and wide as toxic dust dew mist fog rain. (ssc_presentations_031819 pdf referencing baaqm data)
quick facts:
- flare days are defined as days when total vent flow is above 500,000 standard cubic feet of gases per day, and/or emits more than 500 pounds of sulfur dioxide per day.
- flaring is a 'safety' technique used to burn off excess gases to avert major catastrophes, most chemicals are combusted into 'less harmful' components, but smokestack flares still release tons of toxic chemical poison gas and particulates into the air that 'slow harm' us all 15+ miles around, the most sensitive 5-10% showing signs first, but all of us get dosed.
- public health results generally include: respiratory issues, lung disease, asthma, cancer, premature death (and i include my own early-warning 'canary' symptoms below)
- over 90% of all bay area pollution is caused by industry and the contribution from average joe commuter (his vehicles and livestock diet) is fractionally miniscule in comparison.
- the 5 refineries own and use 23 active flares in contra costa county and flaring produces emissions from incinerating excess gasses during various routines.
when refineries flare:
- emergency/process upsets and power outages
- start-up/shutdown routines
- turnaround/maintenance activities
- continuous pilots and daily/nightly flares (invisible but audible)
*they claim refinery flares are super efficient able to incinerate 98% of the gases which is hard to believe, unlikely and probably rarely true and many of these gases merely convert into a dozen other toxic particulates that travel 15+ miles on the wind, like sulfur dioxide (see below)
refinery flaring events
*including my ER visits and token air quality index merged in for spot reference
M = martinez (15.5 miles away) is 800+ acre home to 2 of 5 bay area refineries since 1915, can convert crude oil into 157,000 bpd barrels/day of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other refined products. It also has a dual-coking unit used for processing heavy grades of crude. (reuters.com and pbfenergy.com).R = richmond (18 miles away) is home since 1902 to the largest of 5 refineries, produces 225,000 barrels/day, 2x benecia, 4x rodeo
black: flaring events
red: health related logs
green: breezometer air quality index
blue: extra notable acid deposit on cars
2019 refinery flaring (partial list)
1/17/19 Rich gas leak = 100 pounds h2s release (hydrogen sulfide)
2/2/19 Rich flaring caused by "power dip" = 19k lbs so2 release (sulfur dioxide)
2/24/19 Rich flaring 'upset' = 8k pounds so2 release (due to outages 1/17 and 2/2)
2/24/19 Rich flaring 'upset' = 8k pounds so2 release (due to outages 1/17 and 2/2)
2/28 nausea/vertigo episode started 3 weeks of downward neuropathic spiral3/6/19 Rich flaring with warning due to "power dip" = 10k pounds so2 release
3/16/19 ER visit after 2 weeks dizzy spell, breathing, chestpain, palpitations
3/17/2019 Rich 12:15p
4/13/19 Rich 7th threshold flaring of the year on refinery 'restart' = 18k pounds so2 release
5/16/19 Mart
5/29/19 Rich flaring due to 'startup of process unit' = undetermined amount of so2 release
7/17/19 Rich 730p to 9:22p low level flaring event after 'upset at a process unit'
7/19 first dizzy spell getting out of car since feb/mar ER downward spiral. left house with mild nausea a few days of last 10 (not typical) and have felt my breathing 'challenging/unusual' on brisk walks and easy short jogs. and that rusty-pink haze pollution is back in the sky. all could relate to one another.
7/21/19 Mart Marathon 6:30p shutdown
8/10/2019 Rich 6:00p
10/14/19 Mart 1033p 4.5M quake in Pleasant Hill triggered 7 hours (11p to 630a) flaring events at two Martinez refineries a few miles from the epicenter.
10/15/19 Crockett 2p: level 3 (highest health risk) fuel storage post-quake post-flaring explosion and releases
10/19/19 8a: WC thicker than usual coating of greasy dust acid deposit on cars10/29/19 to 11/20: WC lower quality air 50% baqi (11/14 to 11/16 ok)
10/29 and 11/3: WC had dizzy spells, no surprise given 50% baqi.
"What we don't know is killing us," said Andres Soto with Communities for a Better Environment. "It's a deliberate policy strategy to keep the media and the public ignorant of what is going on with these dangerous chemical processes at the refinery."
10/18/19 "What did we breathe during East Bay fire, refinery flaring?" (SFChronicle.com 10/18/19)
Ralph Borrmann, a spokesman with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, said it's "difficult, if not impossible" to know exactly what else people were breathing. Smoke from the fire "has a lot of particulates in it," county health officer Randy Sawyer said. "They did find some unhealthy levels of particulates throughout the night."
what toxins these 23 flares release:
- Volatile Organic Carbon (VOC)
- Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2): breathing issues
- Nitrogen Oxide (NOx): breathing issues
- Carbon Monoxide (CO): heart issues
- Benzene: cancer-causing
- Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH): cancer-causing
- Particulate Matter (PM 2.5): breathing issues, death.
- Dioxins
- Heavy Metals: lead and mercury (both neurotoxins), chromium (cancer-causing)
what symptoms flaring 'acid deposit' pollution particles cause (see below)
a chinese industrial group illustrate how refinery flarings produce 'acid gas and dust deposit' particulates and pitch a bottomline solution in must-see promo (see below)
- acid deposit and hydrogen sulfide pollution solved by chinese flare gas recovery system (see below)
flaring frequency:
- daily at least one of five refineries is flaring through one of the bay area's 23 flares
- 2001 baaqm study of all 5 refineries found between them flarings occur nearly daily: some daily, some every other day, on average 2x per week
- officially self-reported to baaqm 2005-2018: 3-23 threshold flarings per year per refinery
flaring pollution intensity (local):
- daily allowable emissions = 15 lbs/day, above that is excess emissions, yet refineries are only required to notify gov or alert public about 'significant' flaring days when total vent flow is over 500,000 standard cubic feet of gases per day, and/or emits more than 500 pounds of sulfur dioxide per day.
- Richmond Days of Significant Flaring 2004-2007:
- 142 flare days (3x per month) when the Richmond refinery flare emissions were 'above Air District 'significant' thresholds for causing harm to nearby residents' health.
- 104 flare days (73%) released over 2x the Air District significant harm threshold.
- 82 flare days (58%) released over 3x the Air District significant harm threshold.
- source: Bay Area Air Quality Management District Flare Data, various dates, available online at http://www.baaqmd.gov/enf/flares
flaring pollution intensity (global):
- flaring causes more than 350 million tons of CO2 emissions every year, with serious harmful impacts from uncombusted methane and black carbon emissions.
- global flaring increased globally 5% 2010-2016, 148 billion cubic meters (bcm) natural gas in 2016 and 141 bcm 2017. Russia remains the world's largest gas flaring country, but also saw largest decline 2017, iran and india notably increased flaring pollution.
- gas flaring is also a substantial waste of energy resources
- in 2016, 148 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas was flared globally.
*The data was released by the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR), a World Bank-managed organization comprised of governments, oil companies, and international institutions working to reduce gas flaring. GGFR commits endorsers to not routinely flare gas in new oil field developments and to seek solutions to end routine flaring at existing oil production sites as soon as possible and no later than 2030. GGFR in 2018 was endorsed by 27 governments, 35 oil companies aka 60% of total gas flared around the world.
flaring pounds of pollution by 5 refineries per day:
- hydrocarbons: 35+ tons/day average (based on 2001/02 air district study)
- sulfur dioxide: up to 27+ tons/day average (2001/02 air district study)
*prior to the 2001/02 study, the air district was basing fines on the estimate .01 tons/day (200-350x underestimated). evenso, emissions soared since; seems 5-10% of us dont matter.)
primary resources:
- BAAQM District 2001+2002 Emissions Study
- BAAQM District Agenda 4 Stationary Source Committee Meeting March 18, 2019 ssc_presentation_ 031819.pdf
- Refinery Flaring In The Neighborhood: CBE Communities for a Better Environment, Spring 2004, Julia May refinery-flaring-in-the-neighborhood.pdf
- Investigating Refinery Flaring Pollution and Air Pollutant Concentration, Sarah Gates 2017, BAAQM Data
- Measuring What Matters: Neighborhood Research for Economic and Environmental Health and Justice in Richmond, North Richmond, and San Pablo, Eli Moore/Swati Prakash, May 2009 pg 51-52
- various media and emissions reports
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDX6SY8Cyo0
MUST SEE: QYCE-Flare Gas Recovery System FRS - 16m
Stanley Xu Aug 5, 2016
Shanghai Qingye Engineering Co., Ltd. (QYEC), a subsidiary of Zhongde Group, is a technological services and engineering turnkey contracting company in China
0:21 flaring event 1:28 air pollution: smelly sulfur compounds released during a flare cause public objections/concern. 2:35 solution: flare gas recovery system FRS. 3:38 incomplete combustion of acid flare gasses can cause hydrogen sulfide air pollution. 4:50 feature 4: acid gasses complete 98% combustion to reduce smelly toxic gas pollution. 6:10 qingye's flare-gas recovery system can insure maximum flare safety. 8:00- acid gasses not only contain hydrogen sulfide, but also ammonia. the normal flaring method to decompose them is to mix them with gasses and burn, but hydrogen sulfide will not be completely combusted. this is what causes smelly air pollution [w: and grimy greasy dust deposits splattered on the cars and all surfaces that is visible as a rusty haze].
refinery flaring of gas/dust particulates covers cars 15+ miles with 'black oil' greasy acid deposit (triggers health issues)
the video compilation (exhibit A): https://youtu.be/dKsjI8_WxZ8
it poses acute health risks for the most sensitive 10%, sent me to ER with the same symptoms in the first 6 weeks of 2016, 2019, and 2020 and likely for thousands more. i can name it 'gas flaring acid deposit syndrome' and prove it is worth documenting.
my story my observations (cont)
my 2019 ER visit re dizzy spell, breathing, tightness in chest, palpitations, headaches aligns with known refinery flaring events. my 2016 ER visit for same likely do too. so i emailed the kqed author of 'Table: All Bay Area Gas Oil Refinery Emissions & Flaring Incidents' (see below/bottom) and started digging. and i dont hear back from folks at the media or state offices.
since 2000, air pollution by bay area refineries notably increased. an official baaqm graph 2004-2018 confirms it and shell martinez was fined by air quality mgmt district for high emissions 2015+2016 and flaring hit record highs in 2018 that 2019 then dwarfed. and my Feb 2016, Feb 2019 and Jan 2020 ER visits for the same symptoms align with the fact that all the refineries officially restart after annual holiday shutdown for maintenance. the ongoing industrial pollution and the dust/health patterns all start to line up, add up and make sense.
for years i suspected my symptoms could be dust/pollen/pollution-related, so have pollen and pollution apps/widgets on my phone to see it all at a glance as symptoms get more acute. but i didnt know about refinery flaring or 'acidic deposit' or 'acid dust' aka 'acid rain' which connected the symptoms with environmental factors 'substance' into the simplest logic equation.
9/23/2016 Shell's Martinez Refinery Sent Close to 20 Tons of Gas to its Flares During Monday Outage (TGoldberg KQED.org 9/23/2016)
http://beniciaindependent.com/63-hours-of-unscheduled-flaring-at-valero
- when hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs, goes through a refinery's flares it burns, producing sulfur dioxide which has a "burnt matches" smell. sulfur dioxide can harm the respiratory system and make breathing difficult.
and then there's adequate regulatory corruption and incompetency
2/21/2017 Bay Area Air District refinery flaring reports dumped in trash, records destroyed, whistleblowers say (Eastbaytimes 2/21/2017)
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/02/21/whistleblowers-claim-bay-area-air-quality-group-destroyed-pollution-records/
"We see this increasingly as a problem with agencies not maintaining their records as long as they should. It's an issue that needs to be addressed." ~David Snyder.
(cont)
log 10/19/19: a thicker than daily coating of greasy acid deposit on my car 4.5 days after a 4.5M quake triggered flaring at two martinez refineries 15 miles away. same thing same symptoms followed a 7/17/19 richmond flaring 25 miles out.
the video i shot of the evidence on my car and the cleanup routine required after these events repeats year-round, over and over, year after year with each refinery flaring (see below). this stuff smears and makes seeing through your windshield driving into low angle sun during commute hours very risky dangerous, nearly impossible, not advisable.
a few real questions that a free press vs 'blind eye' press should ask: why cant people get alerts 15+ mile radius if anyone with a camera can easily prove a correlation to refinery flaring?
my symptoms (i deal with crossed neuro-signalling and nerve damage neuropathies affecting a variety of motor/sensory/autonomic functions)
- refinery/plant pollution incl 'flaring/pilots' are making the most sensitive/vulnerable 5-10% among us sick. more frequent/intense tension headaches, moments of imbalance, fatigue and light-headedness/confusion: like one's consciousness is flickering, on the edge of lights out, instantly tired like you're going to blackout and you feel the need to wear a helmet and avoid hwy and the stairs and gym, just in case one actually passes out.
- flashes of ache in the chest/ribs/torso, as it gets more pronounced is described as tightness in the chest, so you breathe more shallow to not aggravate it.
- easily dizzy, winded breathing issues, heart-racing,and sweating at the slightest exertion.
- a mild choker effect aka throat constriction, as it gets worse, it goes from unpleasant to unsettling, you want an oxygen unit nearby.
- more sneezing/coughing/nasal drip
- random palpitations
- acute visual disturbances (ex more blurry vision)
- acute hearing disturbances (more noises, ringing)
- acute sensitivities/annoyances/triggers re temperament/patience
- GI/bowel issues
- jointpain/stiffness
- twitching/spasms/trembling
log 7-20-2019
shot a few 2min videos to show local tv news to investigate before i wash the 'evidence' off my car. i've been washing it off my car for 5+ years, but it's now pretty clear where it's coming from and what our health is reacting to. breathe fine aerosol petro-chemicals for years, nothing good is likely to come from it.
look at KTVU's photo of the sky over chevron's richmond refinery during a level 1 excessive flaring event and compare it to the pink rusty haze we see year-round, not just during fire season, and put the puzzle pieces together.
'Chevron Flaring Incidents Already Double Last Year's Total — Which Was Highest in a Decade', a decade where the air quality has coincidentally also been at its worst.
ktvu: sky over richmond refinery during 'significant flaring' (harm threshold) 7/17/19
my comment to an NBC article:
i beg to differ: the authorities like to give the canned response "there is 'no health threat' to nearby residents" to every event since 9/11 when they were so wrong there are now 10,000 first responders suffering from ground zero toxic dust syndrome/cancers among 60,000 enrolled in health-monitoring and treatment. i think everyone breathing this air full of toxic oily acid deposit coating all surfaces and lining our lungs 15+ miles away, is at risk, with only the most sensitive/vulnerable 5-10% showing signs a decade ahead of rest.
unbiased journalists (if any existed) with means to test the gunk left on cars biochemically in independent labs should investigate this persistent public health threat.
log Fri 7/20/19 AM
Did you notice a thicker than usual coating of oily dust and aerosol splatter on your car this morning? My car had an extra coating of gritty dried 'rust dust' atop an oil aerosol base. It's not the first time, it happens several times/year, some days, like today, its thicker, drooling down the sides, with gritty texture.
It has a rust appearance on all surfaces ex. cars/mailboxes/sunglasses, but is black when you try to wipe it off (it is stubborn and never entirely comes off, half gets smeared around). I saw it make local news 7/20 in Richmond after a level 1 excessive flaring event 730p on 7/17 (see below).
Based on black oil-dust coating Richmond neighborhoods the same way, I'm now forced to suspect what's on my car all these year is refinery oil in the wind.
It has a rust appearance on all surfaces ex. cars/mailboxes/sunglasses, but is black when you try to wipe it off (it is stubborn and never entirely comes off, half gets smeared around). I saw it make local news 7/20 in Richmond after a level 1 excessive flaring event 730p on 7/17 (see below).
Based on black oil-dust coating Richmond neighborhoods the same way, I'm now forced to suspect what's on my car all these year is refinery oil in the wind.
The dust that comes with it seems to mix with the black oil base. It's so obvious, it's embarrassing I didn't suspect bay area oil refineries 5-10 years ago when i started noticing how this 'grease' on the windshields is so tough to clean. when you try to attack it with windex/wipers, it just smears, is harder to see through.
log Fri 7/20/19 PM
My car had a thicker coat of oil all over it today (atop thinner daily coats over 10 days since the last power wash 10 days prior). In today's AM news Richmond residents report the same, and my eyes are irritated, and we can all see that rusty haze, so I check the air quality and it's under 55% baqi, under the 'good' threshold aka borderline for vulnerable populations, who should wear masks.
So the greasy oil aerosol coating on the car in Alamo dispersed 15+ miles away from excessive flaring at the Richmond refinery and/or similar in Martinez.
after seeing the ktvu photo of super-thick rusty haze 'pollution' which resembles what i see often in the bay area for years (pre- and post-fires), add the black oil rust dust coating all surfaces in the region for years, i did a little deeper dig research on the obvious evidential elements and it all starts to add up. i include a small sampling of 5-6 references below.
'Excessive' Flaring at the Chevron refinery in Richmond - KTVU Local News
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Flaring-Seen-at-the-Richmond-Chevron-Refinery-512875191.html
'Excessive' Flaring Seen at the Richmond Chevron Refinery
By Bay City News
Published Jul 17, 2019 at 10:54 PM
'Excessive' Flaring Seen at the Richmond Chevron Refinery
By Bay City News
Published Jul 17, 2019 at 10:54 PM
Chevron Flaring Incidents Already Double Last Year's Total — Which Was Highest in a Decade
Ted Goldberg - Jun 4 2019
Ted Goldberg - Jun 4 2019
A flare at the Chevron refinery on Sept. 3, 2016.
Chevron's Richmond refinery has experienced 17 malfunctions that resulted in the facility sending gases to its flares during the first five months of the year.
That means the refinery has already almost doubled the number of flaring episodes it committed in all of 2018, which marked the highest tally of such incidents in 12 years.
Air regulators say the high frequency of flaring episodes at Chevron is tied to the refinery's new hydrogen plant that began operating in late 2018 and began having trouble about the same time. The flaring incidents are the subject of more than 20 ongoing investigations by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), according to Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who sits on the district's board.
"Clearly, the refinery should have anticipated these issues when starting this new unit," Gioia said. "The number of incidents that Chevron has had is well in excess of what all of us would expect."
The flaring episodes this year include at least four refinery malfunctions that led to the cumulative release of more than 56,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide, according to notification reports filed with Contra Costa County health officials.
Short-term exposure to sulfur dioxide, which is a pollutant, can harm the human respiratory system and make breathing difficult, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Refinery malfunctions led Chevron to send gas to its flares five times in January and then three times every month for the next four months.
Local air regulators say the latest flaring episode took place last week on May 29. The release was caused by the startup of a process unit, according to Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall, who declined to offer more details. The company filed an incident report with the Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Program that said the unit in question was shut down and that an undetermined amount of sulfur dioxide was released.
Reports filed with the agency about several other flaring episodes reveal more.
- The company told the county that a Feb. 2 flaring incident was caused by a "power dip." It led to the release of more than 19,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide over two days.
- An "upset" on Feb. 24 led to the release of close to 8,000 pounds of the gas over about 75 minutes.
- On March 6 another power issue at Chevron led to the release of around 10,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide over close to six hours, prompting several residents in the area to complain about odors from the refinery.
- And on April 13, as the refinery was restarting a unit, it sent gases to its flares, leading to the release of more than 18,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide over three hours and 20 minutes.
Gioia said the power problems associated with some of the flaring incidents have been corrected.
Chevron also suffered two other chemical releases so far this year. The refinery experienced a gas leak on Jan. 17 that led to the release of 100 pounds of hydrogen sulfide, and on March 17 there was a small oil spill from the facility into San Francisco Bay.
Meanwhile, environmentalists are expressing anger over the number of flaring episodes.
"It's unacceptable that these pollution-spewing mishaps are happening more frequently and can emit thousands of pounds of pollution at a time," said Hollin Kretzmann, an Oakland-based lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity.
"Chevron has a sulfur problem," said Matt Krogh with San Francisco-based Stand.earth. "You're seeing incident after incident after incident happening with no real action taken by the regulators."
Air regulators and industry representatives have emphasized that flares burn refinery gases that would otherwise be directly released into the atmosphere and the practice is designed to protect nearby communities and refinery workers.
"The recent flaring activity is primarily related to startup activities of the new hydrogen processing unit. The refinery will continue to operate safely and expects to continue building on our strong record of reducing flaring activity," Chevron's Reddall said in an email.
"The hydrogen plant is part of the refinery's modernization project," he added. "Once the project is completed, these improvements will result in an overall decrease in emissions, as well as safety enhancements that far exceed regulatory requirements."
So far, the air district has not issued any notices of violation against Chevron for its flaring episodes in 2019, according to agency spokeswoman Simrun Dhoot.
Gioia said the agency's focus is on Chevron's hydrogen plant, which creates hydrogen that's used in other parts of the refinery. It began operating last November..
"It's an impressive amount of time. We're seeing seven months of trying to get it right. And they're trying to get it right by releasing toxics into the air," said Stand.earth's Krogh. "That's an unacceptable way to do business."
The number of flaring incidents at Chevron is much higher than at most of the other Bay Area refineries this year.
According to a hazardous materials spill database maintained by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo and the Marathon facility in Martinez each have had two flaring episodes this year. Shell's Martinez refinery had one such incident this year. (You can see the number of flaring incidents each local refinery had between 2005 and 2018 here.)
The other local refinery that's had problems this year is Benicia's Valero facility. In March, a serious malfunction at the Solano County refinery led to two weeks of releases of petroleum coke dust, culminating in a refinery shutdown and brief health advisory. Several government investigations are under way into Valero's breakdown in March and its gradual restarting that took place in May.
U.S. Has More Gas Flares than Any Country - Scientific American
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-has-more-gas-flares-than-any-country
Apr 29, 2016 - ... and gas fields in the U.S. and one thing stands out above the pumpjacks and ... Those flames are known as gas flares, which burn off excess natural gas ... on the project at NOAA's Earth Observation Group in Boulder, Colo.
Natural Gas Flaring: Critics and Industry Square Off Over Emissions
https://insideclimatenews.org/.../natural-gas-flared-north-dakota-oil-wells-study-raises-...
Oct 5, 2015 - Ross said he stands by the findings. ... Friends of the Earth received hundreds of flare volume records from roughly half a dozen oil wells ...
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/02/21/whistleblowers-claim-bay-area-air-quality-group-destroyed-pollution-records/
Bay Area Air District refinery flaring reports dumped in trash, records destroyed, whistleblowers say
Two former Bay Area Air Quality Management District employees are claiming the agency destroyed pollution records, according to their lawyers. In January 2016, a temporary records retention specialist hired by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District discovered that flare reports chronicling air pollution for Chevron, Tesoro, Shell and the region's other oil refineries had been discarded in a dumpster.
Sarah Steele and her boss Michael Bachmann allege they repeatedly protested against the illegal destruction of public air quality and pollution records before they could be scanned, some of which were the subject of ongoing litigation. Chief Legal Counsel Brian Bunger, Legal Counsel Bill Guy and Director of Enforcement Wayne Kino approached her saying they wanted to destroy microfiche documents containing air quality violations.
Steele alleges Bunger, Guy and Kino told her to put boxes of microfilm containing violation notices, settlements, asbestos records and thousands of citizens complaints against Bay Area facilities that had not been inventoried into an unsecured storage room.
"The destruction of records is a huge problem. If records are destroyed, the public can't have access to them," David Snyder said. "We see this increasingly as a problem with agencies not maintaining their records as long as they should. It's an issue that needs to be addressed."
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