Martinez refinery fire leaves health and psychological impacts days later

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The impacts of a weekend fire at the Martinez Refining Company, which injured six refinery workers and released massive smoke plumes, are still being felt in an East Bay suburb.

On Saturday, the facility’s fire caused a public health advisory that kept locals indoors until the evening. Due to ongoing worries about the quality of the air, Contra Costa Health officials advised those who are susceptible to respiratory problems to stay indoors as much as possible on Sunday.

Justin Gomez has been a resident in Martinez for 13 years and is a member of the refinery accountability organization, Healthy Martinez. Around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, he received an air quality alarm while he was at home. About fifteen minutes had passed since the fire began at that point.

“I went out my door and I saw massive columns of black smoke piling up in the air from the direction of the refinery,” Gomez recalled.

He claimed that his children were terrified and that he could hear rumbling coming from MRC’s direction.

“My daughter grabbed her stuffies, some family pictures, and her play purse and she said she wanted to leave, so thats what we did,” Gomez recalled.

As a diversion, they went to Concord and had frozen yogurt, but his kids were still anxious.

“They were asking if we would be able to go home,” Gomez added.

According to MRC, two workers discovered a hydrocarbon substance leak during routine maintenance, which resulted in the incident. When the materials began to burn, all of the employees began to leave. The amount of sulfur dioxide released was hundreds of pounds.

Four of the six employees who received treatment for fire-related health issues were admitted to the hospital and later released.

Although he is disturbed, local congressman John Garamendi says he is not shocked by the occurrence.

Garamendi stated, “Well, this is one more wake up call to the refinery,” “Awaken! Be mindful of your infrastructure. Verify the functionality and condition of your facilities. Verify that the pipes and other equipment are in good condition and equipped to handle any potential problems.

The refinery has already experienced several problems and infractions.

The refinery unintentionally spilled about 20 tons of industrial chemicals on Thanksgiving 2022, causing metallic dust to blanket people’s homes and cars. The refinery then released petroleum coke particles into the atmosphere in July 2023. Numerous instances of flare have also occurred.

Garamendi thinks the refinery reacted faster this time around because of these earlier problems.

“We do know that the refinery — as a result of the earlier incidents, the fines that were levied by the county and the air quality board — have had an effect,” Garamendi said. “We saw that with this particular fire where they immediately notified the county and the community.”

Following recent events, Contra Costa County HealthHealth authorities conducted an unexpected check at the Martinez refinery in December 2023.

The study found no places that required short-term or urgent attention, according to the Contra Costa Health Hazardous Materials Program report.

However, Gomez remains dissatisfied. He claims that since Shell sold the refinery to PBF Energy in 2020, there have been additional problems. He desires accountability.

“I want to see an investigation from the federal government, from the chemical safety board,” Gomez stated. “The fact that workers were harmed indicates that the federal government is qualified to investigate the incident. I want to see the refinery closed permanently, and we need answers.”

According to the Contra Costa County Industrial Investigation, MRC claims they will look into the situation more thoroughly. With the exception of necessary utility systems, operations have been suspended for the time being.