Home NEWS Local Scene Flaring At Chevron Refinery Sparking Concern, Questions Friday

Flaring At Chevron Refinery Sparking Concern, Questions Friday

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Photo: Vania Simmons-Leigh

Highly visible flaring at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond has attracted widespread attention and some concern as Bay Area residents question the rationale behind the move – on a wind-less, hot, Spare the Air Day Friday.

Chevron issued a brief statement about the flaring:

“The Chevron Richmond Refinery is currently experiencing flaring activity due to an upset at a process unit. Due to the visibility of smoke, a Community Warning System (CWS) Level 1 was issued to keep residents informed. Level 1 is one of the lowest on the CWS scale.

Flaring is an important part of keeping the Refinery running safely. Flares are a safety device used in refineries to relieve pressure during the refining processes and help keep our equipment and plants operating safely. Members of the community can visit www.richmondairmonitoring.org to view real-time air quality data.”

The Contra Costa Hazardous Materials Program dispatched air monitoring teams to the area to assess whether there is any risk to the community.

16 COMMENTS

  1. Do people stretch the capacity of hydrocarbon processing facilities to optimize output without regard to environmental and public health risks?

    “People do!”

  2. Spare the air day?? Meh, I have some trash to burn in the backyard. We still have a lot of air left.

  3. Why the hullabaloo? All y’all out there running around shopping, having coffee/lunch/whatev, don’t seem too worried about the Spare-the-Air or the still-in-effect SIP….Y’all likely got as much emissions coming out of your tail-pipe as a few flares on this Spare the Air day…..oh? is it that it’s OK to spew car emissions on this day? Must be with the multitudes of folks out and about right now……spew on…..

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