The Bay Area regional air pollution control agency, better known as Bay Area Air Quality, has an active investigation into a burning event at Martinez Refining Company, which occurred on November 24, in which, it anticipated , violations will be issued.
On November 25, personnel from the Air District responded to a total of 7 complaints from the Martínez refinery alleging dust falling on their homes and cars. At the time of these calls, the wind direction was southwest with speeds of zero to 2 miles per hour.
The suspected source of the precipitation is believed to be the Martinez Refining Company ?MRC?.
The air pollution control agency noted that it spoke with MRC representatives and was told that the refinery received a total of 24 calls related to dust in the vicinity of the company, in addition to dust samples being collected at locations of the entire community, for which reason he requested a copy of the results of the same.
By November 26, Air District personnel were on site investigating the event further and met with MRC representatives to gather additional information about the incident and subsequent precipitation in neighboring areas.
At that time, MRC stated that it had experienced a process unit upset and as a result had an indicated excess of opacity in the carbon monoxide boilers and a reportable amount of sulfur dioxide due to the flaring on Thursday, January 24. November.
MRC representatives informed Air District staff on the 26th that the disturbed unit has returned to normal operation and they do not anticipate any further problems with this unit.
However, the agency also took samples at the locations of complaints received by the Air District and at potential refinery sources, which will be compared by a laboratory to determine if the company was the source of the fallout.
Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials ?HazMat? he was also on site on the 26th and was also collecting samples at various locations, pledging to send samples to a laboratory for dust analysis.
"The Air District will continue its investigation of the event. No violation notices have been issued at this time, but we anticipate the discovery of regulatory violations as we continue our investigation. We will provide additional updates once we get more information," the agency said in a statement.
For its part, this Monday afternoon, the Martínez Refining Company reported that it has received the results of preliminary tests from a third-party laboratory for the dust found in cars and buildings, mainly in the downtown area of Martínez, on November 25. .
The tests, he said, confirm that the samples are "spent catalyst" that originated from the refinery's Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit.
“We are awaiting further laboratory results, but preliminary analysis shows that the primary composition of the spent catalyst includes alumina silicate, clay, and other minerals mined from the earth,” the refinery said in a statement.
The catalyst, he noted, had been incinerated at high temperatures to remove impurities for reuse in the refining process and was accidentally released during Thanksgiving night hours.
“We are very sorry that this release of the spent catalyst has occurred and we apologize to our neighbors who found the material in their vehicles, houses and buildings. This material can be removed by rinsing surfaces such as patio furniture, driveways and plants with water.
It added that during the same time period as the release of the spent catalyst, an unrelated burn-up event was experienced, due to an equipment malfunction.
The refinery highlighted that it has made arrangements with Autopia Car Wash, to provide car washes to affected residents who have difficulties removing the spent catalyst from their vehicles, starting this Friday, December 2, at an establishment located at Avenida Alhambra 3950, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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