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Chevron refinery fire, Richmond, CA |
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Richmond fire, viewed from Tiburon |
Among other details, 4,540 residents needed medical attention—
Investigators looking into the fire at the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond suspect that heat insulation around a leaking pipe contributed to the disaster by masking the extent of the danger until it was too late, The Chronicle has learned.Background and context, courtesy of Democracy Now.
By underestimating the size of the leak, initially believed to be about 20 drips per minute, officials kept operating the refinery's large crude unit, where crude oil is separated under heat reaching 1,100 degrees.
... The company has been criticized for running the plant for two hours Monday afternoon after a worker first spotted the leak....
...
...in response to an estimated 4,540 residents who sought medical care after Monday's fire, Chevron will open a claims office Friday in Richmond to process applications for payments to cover medical expenses and property damage.
From interviews with Richmond Mayor (and Green Party member) Gayle McLaughlin, and environmental justice activist Andres Soto, on the hazardous over hundred-year old refinery and Chevron's history with the town—
AMY GOODMAN:
Chevron occupies over 13% of Richmond’s land, and according to the California Air Resources Board, emits more greenhouse gas pollution than any other facility in California. Many who grew up in the refinery’s shadow have memories of illnesses caused by spills. Community activists have also accused Chevron of using its local economic clout to minimize taxes and skirt environmental regulations. ...
...
GAYLE MCLAUGHLIN: ... This situation is totally unacceptable that every few years we have these disastrous situations with fires and impact on the health of our community....
ANDRES SOTO: ...Realistically, what we have seen is nothing but spin out of the refinery. On the one hand they apologized to the community is how they always lead their statements off. But, realistically, they came out and they were blaming the same community and the environmentalists for them not being able to modernize and upgrade their operations there at the Richmond refinery when in fact, we know that this unit, the crude unit that actually caught on fire and blew up, it was never part of that upgrade program. They could have ensured the safety of this thing in general. But it is that mendacity, the misrepresentation of the truth that Chevron is engaging in that makes it very difficult to deal with them. They refuse to negotiate in good faith with the committee over a wide range of issues, whether it is fair taxation or whether it's environmental safety and environmental justice....
National story: "Refinery fire; price of gas to increase on West Coast."
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