An oil refinery in Martinez spewed petroleum coke dust into the air Friday morning, the latest in a series of emissions problems at the facility since last year that have riled community members worried about how much the company pollutes their air.
The Martinez Refining Company said the brief emissions burst occurred about 10:30 a.m. and contained petroleum coke dust emitted “when equipment was opened for maintenance,” according to a social media post around noon from the company.
County health officials said the emissions problem was short-lived and they had “not found evidence of any immediate risk to public health in surrounding communities,” according to a county news release.
But the incident was at least the fourth reported since last November, when the facility spewed material that coated cars and other surfaces across the city and beyond.
The number of incidents has raised concerns among residents about operations at the oil refinery, run by PBF Energy.
“I feel like they’re gambling with our health,” said James Wilson, a longtime Martinez resident.
Friday’s release occurred as the East Bay city was preparing for an annual Homecoming parade and game, casting a pall over what should be a celebratory day. The school district sent out an alert Friday morning to notify residents that they were monitoring the situation.
“I’m so frustrated,” said Martinez resident Wendy Ke, whose daughter is a junior at Alhambra High School. “The kids have been working on these floats. We don’t know if there’s still stuff cycling in the air.”
Contra County health officials said in a statement that they believe the parade and other outdoor community events can proceed as planned.
November’s release remains under investigation by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Contra County District Attorney’s Office. In that case, the facility emitted between 20 and 24 tons of an ash-like material called spent catalyst from its stacks when staff neglected to fire up emissions control systems after doing repairs.
On Friday, at least one person observed a black plume of smoke coming from the Pacheco Boulevard facility, a 860-acre complex on the city’s northeastern outskirts with a capacity of processing about 156,400 barrels of crude oil products per day.
That person filed a complaint with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, or BAAQMD, and reported seeing the smoke at 10:37 a.m., agency officials said.
Contra Costa County health officials and BAAQMD staff sent teams to the area to measure air quality and look for signs of the material on surfaces. Health officials reported at 11:30 a.m. that “the release has stopped.”
Petroleum coke is a product of oil refining and is mostly elemental carbon, according to the EPA, and is unhealthy to breathe because its particles are small and can infiltrate the lungs.
Martinez Mayor Brianne Zorn said she too was frustrated. While Friday’s incident may technically be a minor one, it’s part of a pattern that puts residents on edge and at risk.
“We regularly hear from the Martinez Refining Company that this is not how they do business,” Zorn said. “But the record shows that this is how they do business.”
Reach Julie Johnson: julie.johnson@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @juliejohnson
