Richmond Refinery
Chevron Corporation operates the plant located in Richmond, California. Originally Chevron was part of the Standard Oil of California corporation which was formed by John D. Rockefeller, but when anti trust laws were put into place, Standard Oil was split into 7 different companies, including Chevron. Their Richmond plant was built in 1901, and currently has the ability to produce 242,901 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis.
One of the worst incidents to happen at this facility was an explosion in April of 1989. 8 people were injured during the explosion, three of whom received serious burns. A fire burned and created a cloud of smoke that did not fully dissipate for up to 6 days. Estimates say that there were over $1 million in damages as a result of this incident.
A major fire erupted at the plant in January of 2007. Flames were seen to shoot as high as 50 feet up into the air, and the entire facility had to be evacuated. This caused a major health concern in the local community, and residents were urged to seek shelter. Employees of a toll booth operation at a nearby bridge were sent home as the fire continued to blaze. Investigators determined that the cause of the fire was a leak in a pump at the plant. Oil that was seeping out of the pump had ignited, and created a large explosion that was heard for miles around. One employee was injured because of the explosions and the resulting fire. Fire fighting crews were called in immediately, and Coast Guard vessels were summoned to secure the area since the plant is so close to bay waters. It took crews nearly 2 hours to put out the fire, and they were able to contain the blaze to one processing unit. Later that day the air quality was deemed to be healthy again, and employees were called back to work.
In April of 2008, a flare up occurred at the refinery in a production unit that manufactures lubrication oil. A malfunction caused the flare, and allowed high levels of toxic emissions to be released into the air. Officials from the Chevron plant declared that the flare up was the result of a compressor unit being shut down for routing maintenance. Local environmental groups are currently looking into the incident, as well as conducting long term studies about the amount of emissions produced by this and other Bay Area refineries.
Over the years Chevron has faced many problems at this work site. Some of the more serious events included a fire in 1994, which resulted in a serious injury for one employee; an explosion in 1991 that allowed the release of over 40 tons of hazardous materials throughout a residential area in Richmond; a flash fire burned 2 employees in 1989; and the presence of asbestos resulted in many employees falling ill and developing cancerous diseases such as mesothelioma.
Asbestos was found in a variety of products for many years, before it was understood to be hazardous. Chevron's Richmond employees were put at risk of inhaling tiny particles of this material, which could remain in their respiratory system and do massive damage. Every person who worked at this facility while these products were in use may have been exposed, and is urged to notify their doctor right away.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
