Unplanned flaring occurred for a couple of half-hour on the Martinez oil refinery on Saturday evening.
The Martinez Refining Firm, a subsidiary of PBF Vitality, stated in a press release on Sunday on Fb that the sudden flaring started at 11 p.m. and stopped at about 11:30 p.m.
Flaring is the burning of refinery gases which are expelled after energy disruptions that interrupt the conventional processing of these gases, based on the corporate’s web site.
Flaring can happen due to deliberate upkeep or sudden energy failures. It ends in thick black smoke and might produce a loud, thunder-like sound, based on the corporate.
A Neighborhood Warning System Stage 1 was issued by the corporate, which didn’t require any motion from the general public.
The corporate operates a group inquiry telephone quantity at (925) 313-3777 for residents with issues or complaints.
Actual time emissions ranges are posted on the corporate’s web site at www.fenceline.org/martinez/.
Flaring on the facility is regulated by the Bay Space Air High quality Administration Company and the U.S. Environmental Safety Company.
The 860-acre refinery and its stock have been bought by Shell to PBF Vitality in 2020 for $1.2 billion. The power can produce 157,000 barrels of oil per day.
In November 2022, powdery “spent catalyst” was launched into the group after a compressor failed. An explosion on the plant about two weeks later once more prompted flaring and an investigation by the Contra County Well being, based on a group message from town of Martinez on the time.
The county employed an impartial investigator to check soil samples and decided there was no danger to the general public.
In 2023, there have been at the least 21 situations of launch or spills of hazardous materials on the refinery, based on Contra Costa County Well being.
“Repeated commitments to the community and to regulators to improve the culture of safety at PBF have not resulted in improvement,” Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal Glover stated on the time. Glover’s district consists of the refinery.
This yr there have been a number of flaring incidents, together with deliberate flaring that occurred throughout upkeep work in February and a number of other weeks in April and Might.
