A flare advisory was issued at Chevron’s Richmond refinery at 3:50 p.m. Saturday, reportedly the third incident this month. It released a dark smoke that could be seen drifting into east Contra Costa County.
The smoke was expected to impact air quality in Contra Costa and Solano counties, according to a notice sent out an hour later, and residents were advised to “stay alert to news coverage and warnings from local health officials.”
The company said on its Richmond Facebook page that its “workforce was working quickly to minimize and stop the flaring.” A Community Warning System (CWS) Level 1 notification — indicating the lowest potential impact — was issued at 4:50 p.m. Chevron said there was no emergency response nor community action required. Flaring is a controlled process used to safely burn off excess or hazardous gases or liquids that might otherwise create a fire or explosion risk.
The refinery’s fenceline monitoring website shows realtime information about the types of chemicals found in the air in various Richmond neighborhoods.
At 3:55 p.m. the levels of particulate matter at the North Richmond monitoring station were 19.00 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which according to the IQ Air scale is a “moderate” level and could pose health risks for sensitive individuals. A slightly lower PM 2.5 level was recorded at the Atchison Village monitor site at 7 p.m. Saturday. Particulate matter refers to tiny air particles that can penetrate the lungs and blood stream, causing health problems.
The Bay Area Air District issued an air quality advisory and said once its investigation is complete, an incident report will be posted on its website.
In a recent Facebook post, Chevron said it has installed technology to digitally “monitor, reduce and control” flaring in real time.
We will update this story when further details are available.
