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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 09201994 - S.2 TO:_ BOARD OF SUPERVISORS J' FROM: A SUPERVISOR JEFF SMITH _ Contra Costa DATE: SEPTEMBER 20 ,1994 County SUBJECT: UNOCAL RODEO REFINERY SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: Consider the response the County should take to the recent release of catacarb to the atmosphere at the UNOCAL oil refinery in Rodeo. BACKGROUND: On August 22, 1994 UNOCAL personnel discovered a leak in the stack on Regeneration Tower D-409. They investigated the leak and decided to keep this unit in operation, under supervision. They report that they believed the unit functioned without incident until they received a call at 9:25 A.M. on September 4, from a Crockett resident complaining of off-site consequences. They received another call at 1:20 A.M. On September 5, at 8:20 A.M. UNOCAL reported that they had a leak with, off-site consequences, to the, Health Services Department at 11:18 on September 6. Steve Plesh, General Manager of UNOCAL sent the attached explanation of the incident. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR C MENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON September 20, 1994 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER X The Board HEARD reports from Dr. Walker, Health Services Department, and Steve Plesh, UNOCAL, on the recent release of catacarb to the atmosphere at the UNOCAL oil refinery in Rodeo; AUTHORIZED Supervisor Smith to meet with the .Health Services Department, representatives from UNOCAL, and from the communities involved to propose the structure for a Citizens Advisory Committee that would involve the communities of Rodeo and Crockett to assure on-going communication and aid in preventing communication lapses in V_tTE�ogj;vMRMl,%jejRs the future. � � � Of a = I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS (ABSENT I ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED September 20, 1994 PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY Q , DEPUTY Contact Person: CC: Supervisor Smith Health Services Unocal Petroleum Products&Chemicals Division Unocal Corporation San Francisco Refinery 1380 San Pablo Avenue Rodeo,California 94572-1299 Telephone(510)799-4411 UNCAL �6 RECEIVED 16 rpw, [Q.11RVISOR SN ITH 1 Stephen Plesh General Manager,San Francisco Refinery September 15, 1994 SP-213-94 Supervisor Jeff Smith Supervisor, District II County Administration Building 651 Pine Street, Room 108A Martinez, CA 94553-1293 Dear Supervisor Smith: I received your letter of September 12 and welcome the opportunity to respond to the circumstances surrounding the incident experienced at Unocal's Refinery in Rodeo last week. I personally.apologize for the position in which we left you and your staff relative to the incident. I know that you have worked very hard to foster good relationships with the communities of Crockett and Rodeo, whose residents are our closest neighbors. We at Unocal painfully realize that we did not help you or ourselves as far as building and maintaining those solid relationships with the citizens of Crockett. In specific response to your request: 1. For a detailed explanation of the incident, I am enclosing a copy of the description sent to the Contra Costa County Health Department (see Attachment # 1). 2. A copy of our Emergency Response Plan and Procedure Manual, Section 9-1, is attached to respond to your request of standard reporting procedures (see Attachment # 2). 3. We are continuing our investigation of the incident, and improvements to the notification procedures will be addressed in our investigation report. Supervisor Jeff Smith SP-213-94 September 15, 1994 Page 2 4. We quickly assembled a team of safety, medical, environmental, operations, public affairs, insurance adjusters and clean-up personnel to manage and respond to the incident. Our community hotline was available to take calls 24 hours a day. In addition, we put in a second telephone number to handle community calls. That number, which is still in effect, is (510) 245-4495. We emphasized answering health questions first by conducting health assessments of concerned Wickland and Unocal employees, John Swett Unified School District employees and residents of Crockett and Tormey, offering the same to any others who may have been affected. Our medical personnel are still in place to respond to any additional health effect questions. Our clean-up activities, implemented that same day, focused on assisting the greatest number of people right away. We began washing and detailing cars and coordinating insurance claims. Insurance representatives have been and are meeting with homeowners, business people and other members of the community who have called or are calling us with complaints. We have also begun cleaning other affected personal property. We sent out teams of Unocal employees into the community on September 10 and 11 to distribute a fact sheet and explain what had happened to those residents of Crockett and Tormey who called in between September 6 and 9 (see Attachment # 3). In addition to our on-going clean-up efforts, we are preparing a community mailing to every resident covered by the 94525 Zip Code, which includes Crockett and Tormey, (see Attachment # 4) and plan to advertise our claims phone line number in the West County Times this weekend to make sure everyone affected by our release knows who to call to ask questions and/or file a claim. For your information, I am also attaching a copy of a letter we sent to M. Feldstein, BAAQMD (see Attachment # 5). I'm sure you are aware we were invited by the Crockett Improvement Association to talk to the citizens affected by the release at a special Town Hall meeting that was held last Tuesday evening. Our interaction with the citizens who attended that meeting gave us further insights into the community's concerns. We are determined to address each and every issue raised. Supervisor Jeff Smith SP-213-94 September 15, 1994 Page 3 We did not intend to endanger or frighten our neighbors, let alone allow our release to impact their health, damage their property or otherwise inconvenience them. I have apologized to our neighbors and I apologize to you for this incident. I assure you that we will do everything possible to make sure this type of thing doesn't happen again. I am sorry we did not live up to our own operating philosophy in this instance, and I pledge to work diligently to prevent it from happening again. Very truly yours, SP/abs Attachments ATTACHMENT #1. Unocal Petroleum Pro !s&Chemicals Division Unocal Corporation San Francisco Refinery 1380 San Pablo Avenue Rodeo,California 94572-1299 Telephone(510) 799-4411 UNOCAL r/ Stephen Plesh September 13, 1994 SP-208-94 Generai Manager.San Francisco Refinery Lewis G. Pascalli,Jr., Esq. Deputy Director Environmental Health Hazardous Materials Programs Health Services Department 4333 Pacheco Boulevard Martinez, CA 94553-2295 Dear Mr. Pascalli: San Francisco Refinery Chemical Release Attached is a REVISED Attachment I to our letter of September 9. The time of confirmation of catacarb deposition was corrected as requested and additional informatibn concerning potential off-site consequences, discovered in reviewing our operational logs, has been summarized. In addition, I am attaching shift logs from our Fire Protection Department. These logs were not requested by your department but they contain information pertinent to the release. If you have further questions or requests, please contact Warren Smith at 245-4436. Yours very truly, M. L. CLARK (Acting General Manager) for Stephen Plesh, General Manager WAS/abs Attachments cc: Warren Smith ATTACHMENT 1 REVISED 9/13/94 FOLLOW-UP NOTIFICATION REGARDING A CHEMICAL RELEASE AT UNOCAL - SAN FRANCISCO REFINERY, RODEO, CALIFORNIA SUMMARY OF EVENTS : • August 22 , 1994 , while under normal operating conditions, Regenerator Tower D-409 at Unit 240 of the Unicracker Complex developed a leak to the atmosphere in the upper section of the vessel . • As soon as Unit Operators detected vapors coming from the vessel , a release was reported, an emergency was declared at 6 : SS AM and Fire Brigade members responded to the site . • The County Health Services Department was notified at 7 : 20 AM in accordance with the Hazardous Material Incident Notification Policy. • As a precautionary measure, the Incident Commander ordered the area around the vessel blocked off while the situation was being evaluated. After the evaluation was completed, the blocked area was reduced to the road directly behind Unit 240 . • After extensive investigation and evaluation, a decision was made to continue operating the unit and closely monitor the condition of the release . • Some of the factors that contributed to this decision were : The substance being released was primarily steam and carbon dioxide . The overhead of D-409 tower passes through a small knock-out pot which vents to atmosphere by design (and permit) a short distance downstream from the leak. The plume of the release had the color and appearance of steam and looked identical to the overhead vent plume . D-409 vessel operates with a top pressure in the 8 psi range which eliminated any concerns about catastrophic failure . This tower is used to regenerate catacarb solution by removing carbon dioxide. It is possible that the release included a negligible amount of catacarb, which would resemble a detergent . The leak from D-409 was judged not to be a health or environmental concern. There was no apparent change in the level of catacarb usage, indicating no significant loss of that chemical . • Unit 240 was scheduled for maintenance turnaround in slightly over one month. The availability of parts and labor for the turnaround was established to correspond with that time frame . • The release from the tower was monitored at least every four hours for any change . • This condition remained stable from August 22, 1994 until the weekend of September 3 , 1994 , with no reported on-site or off- site consequences . • At 0925 on September 4 , a call to SFR' s Community hotline from a Crockett resident indicated the possibility of off-site consequences but a Unocal employee who visited the site about 1300 did not observe anything that he could connect to activity at the refinery. A second unconfirmed report was received from another caller at 0120 am on September 5 . • At 0820 Tuesday, September 6 , confirmed reports were received from Wickland Oil Terminals, a fence-line neighbor northeast of the refinery. • At approximately 0945 , visual observation of the Refinery tank farm confirmed a brown liquid was depositing on the tanks . It was assumed to be catacarb solution coming from the D-409 leak and the decision was immediately made to shut the unit down for permanent repair. • Subsequent examination of operations logs revealed that some of the solution appeared on nearby equipment as early as September 3 , 1994 . • It appears that a significant change occurred in the leak over the weekend which caused entrainment of liquid catacarb up the tower, resulting in discharge to the environment . • Details and causes of the incident are still under investigation . WASmith/bc San Francisco Refinery Revised September 13 , 1994 ATTACHMENT #2 SAN FRANCISCO REFINERY EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN AND PROCEDURES MANUAL, Subject.:. Out:..Si.d,e:::Agency: . . `.Notif.ication Responsible Supervisor: Orig Issue: l0/15/91Manual:Section: g-1 Fire Protection Supervisor Latest Revision: 10/15/91 Page: 1 of 4 9 . 1 . 1 Intent The intent of this procedure is to immediately notify local authorities of an incident that will affect the surrounding community. The incident may involve a significant fire, explosion or release of H,S, etc. These situations which impact the surrounding community will cause a number of inquiries by the public to the local authority. By informing the local authorities immediately they can better answer inquiries and at the same time block off adjacent highways or evacuate the public , if necessary. Minor incidents or emergencies , where the effect is felt only within the Refinery, the notification of local authorities will not be made . 9 . 1 . 2 Procedure 1 . The Staging Officer will call the local authority from the mobile telephone within their vehicle. The Incident Commander will authorize the Staging Officer to make this call as soon as it is determined the incident will impact the community. 2 . The Staging Officer will complete the "Local Agency Report" (See Section 9 . 1 . 3 ) prior to calling the local agency. Telephone numbers of the agencies are at the bottom of the report form. 3 . Follow up calls to the agencies will be made using the above procedure . 4 . Copies of each completed "Local Agency Report" , will be delivered to Emergency Response Center as soon as possible. The Staging Officer will call the Main Gate Guardhouse (PAX 4301) to have a guard deliver the report. NOTE: In the event the mobile telephones are all inoperative the Staging Officer will immediately call the Marine Terminal Operator to notify the local agency. If the Emergency Response Center is established immediately the Staging Officer will notify them to make the call when mobile telephones are inoperative. However, the Local Agency Report form must always be prepared prior to calling the local authorities. SAN FRANCISCO REFINERY EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN AND PROCEDURES MANUAL, Page: 3 of 4 I�ianual:.Section:. 9 . 1 . 4 LOCAL AGENCY REPORT SAMPLE NO. 1 - "FIRE" DATE: BULLETIN NUMBER: This Emergency Response Staging Officer at the Unocal Oil Refinery in Rodeo. We have a fire in progress. The incident is being handled by Refinery personnel and there is no known hazard to the community. This call is for information only. . The fire began at 10 : 00 PM tonight and is localized in a Hydrocracking Unit. The facilities are used to upgrade heavy oil to gasoline. The cause of fire is unknown at this time but an investigation will begin immediately. one person received a minor injury. If there are significant changes in the status of the incident, a follow-up call will be made. The Refinery telephone number is ( 415) 799-4411 . AGENCY TIME CALLED Contra Costa Sheriff - 510-228-8282 Rodeo Fire Department - 510-799-4484 • ATTACHMENT #3 Unocal Petroleum Products&Chemicals Division Unocal Corporation San Francisco Refinery 1380 San Pablo Avenue Rodeo.California 94572-1299 Telephone(510)799-4411 UNOC L76. September 11, 1994 Stephen Plesh THIS LETTER WAS INDIVIDUALLY General Manager.San Francisco Refinery ADDRESSED TO THE RESIDENTS ON THE ATTACHED LIST. Dear Mr. Thank you for calling and relaying difficulties you experienced as a result of our release on September 5 and.6, 1994. 1 would like to apologize to the community for this incident. The Refinery is committed to operating in a safe and responsible manner and this incident is inconsistent with our operating philosophy. To respond and manage the incident, a team of safety, medical, environmental, operations, public affairs, insurance adjusters and cleanup personnel were quickly assembled. Our community hotline was available to take calls 24 hours a day. Naturally, we emphasized answering health questions first. Our cleanup plan focused on assisting the greatest number of people right away. This meant washing cars and coordinating insurance claims representatives to meet with homeowners. If your claim hasn't already been handled, you can expect a call from a claim's representative this week. If necessary, they will set up an appointment to meet with you and examine your property. To properly respond to this incident, it is critical that we have open communications with the community. In an effort to better understand how our neighbors may have been impacted, we sent out teams of Unocal employees to meet with over 85 homeowners face-to-face. Our goal was to listen to concerns, respond to questions and describe our cleanup plan. For those homeowners who weren't home, we dropped off fact sheets that provided an overview and a public information line to call in on. I have enclosed the fact sheet, but if there is an area you would like more information, please feel free to call our public information line at 510-245-4495 between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Again, I am sorry we did not live up to our own operating philosophy in this instance, and I pledge to work diligently to prevent it from happening again. Very truly yours, 5,�V, SP:hmt Enclosure UNOCAL INCIDENT FACT SHEET (9-06-94) The Unocal Refinery in Rodeo had an airborne release of an alkaline solution containing potassium carbonate. This material appears as a brown, waxy coating when it settles on surfaces and may dry to a soapy residue. No odors have been reported. The release ended late Tuesday, September 6, 1994. What if my car or property has been affected? If you have experienced this type of substance on your automobile, Unocal has set up a car washing facility at its refinery to thoroughly wash your car. Please call (510) 245-4495 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. to set up a time most convenient for you. If you feel you have any other personal property that may have been affected, please call Unocal at (510) 245-4495 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. What if I have health questions? The release is not considered a serious health threat and no long- term effects are expected from the exposure. If you are experiencing any symptoms which you believe are related to the incident, call (510) 245-4495 or consult a physician. What are the effects on fruit and vegetables? All fruit and vegetables that may have been exposed should be washed with water. Is air monitoring being performed? While the release ended Tuesday, September 6, the Contra Costa County Health Services Department is continuing to monitor the area surrounding the Unocal Refinery and is working closely with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Unocal. Post-It'"brand fax transmittal memo 7671 #of pages ► From _,, Ct(nom Dept. Phone N George,Grokett 625,1st Avenue Fax# Faxk Crockett,94525 _ Patty,O'Neil,602,2nd Avenue,Crockett,94525 Colleen,Kennedy,711,2nd Avenue,Crockett,94525 Vivian,Ebert,504,3rd Avenue,Crockett,94525 Ken,Nedderman,637,3rd Avenue,Crockett,94525 Charles,Brow,116,5th Avenue,Crockett,94525 Pearl,Parini,914,5th Avenue,Crockett,94525 Inez,Santucci,934,5th Avenue,Crockett,94525 Rita,DeTomasi,1016,6th Avenue,Crockett,94525 Paul,Morrison,911,6th Ave-nue,Crockett,94525 John and Michelle,Daniel,924,6th Avenue,Crockett,94525 Adine,Angelo,274,Alexander Avenue,Crockett,94525 Nancy,Kuestman,548,Alhambra Street,Crockett,94525 Agostinho,Romano Jr.,19,Atherton Avenue,Crockett,94525 Francis,Dah1,191,Baldwin,Crockett,94525 AI,Vaio,2,Bayview Road,Crockett,94525 Craig,Marshall,75,Bishop,Crockett,94525 Ramone,McDoug,114,Bridgeview Court,Crockett,94525 Gary,Aberts,121,Bridgeview Court,Crockett,94525 Jim,McHale,124,Bridgeview Court,Crockett,94525 Jim,McHale,12 ide�cjs�C-ouCt,Crackett,94525 Michael,Gomez,125,Bridgeview Court,Crockett,94525 Douglas,Rudd, ridgeview Road,Crockett,94525 Mary,Holton,1907,Carquinez Way,Crockett,94525 Richard,Haisley,1215,Ceres Street,Crockett,94525 Raymond and Helen,Ford,1225,Ceres Street,Crockett,94525 Patricia,Han await,1515,Ceres Street,Crockett,94525 Roz and AI,Tuana,251,Clark Street,Crockett,94525 Larry,Wilson,433,Clark Street,Crockett,94525 Kash a,Kessler,565,Clark Street,Crockett,94525 Willard,Reid,11,Cook Avenue,Crockett,94525 Julie,Waldren,61,Crestview Road,Crockett,94525 Susan,Crosby,8,Crolona Heights,Crockett,94525 Megan,Westcott,1233,Darr Street,Crockett,94525 James,Ott,112,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Steve,Nordin,155,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Enver,Mehmedbasich,275,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Jan et,Wall,280,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Beverly,Thomas,292,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Lou ise,Choquette,295,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Joe,Mutascio,319,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 May,Land is,326,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Norm,Markus,335,Duperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Norman,Markus,335,Duperu Drive,.C-rockett,94525 David,Pessagno,404,Dpperu Drive,Crockett,94525 Tom,Sharp,228,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 S-oetti arrr<trig,26a,Edwards-Street-,Crockett,9452, Scott,Mann ing,260,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 Reatta,Robinson,278,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 Lena,Montesano,365,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 Liaaj&0 itesana,3 LS,Edward-s-&t-reet,_Crockett,94525 Wayne,Neckel,460,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 Fred,Maria,505,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 Denise,Maria,525,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 J tzr<er;832,Edwards Street,Cro.ckeett?94S2S- Judy,Weitzner,632,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 Arthur,Fanucchi,744,Edwards Street,Crockett,94525 Cathy,Wentworth,44,Emerson Avenue,Crockett,94525 Judy]iudsofi-,-1334,Fiore-Street;C roc kett,94525 Judy,Hudson,1334,Flora Street,Crockett,94525 David,Risa,1405,Flora Street,Crockett,94525 Fred,Clericy,1514,Flora Street,Crockett,94525 Lena,McCissen,1325,Francis Street,Crockett,94525 Mary and John,Regalia,1514,Francis Street,Crockett,94525 Brett,Carr,17,Hartwell,Crockett,94525 Gary,Diaf,30,Holven Court,Crockett,94525 Todd,Garcia,235,Kendall Avenue,Crockett,94525 Lori,Donahue,242,Kendall Avenue Apt #1,Crockett,94525 Christa.pb. r,Higgins,1514,Lillian Street,Crockett,94525 Christopher,Higgins,1514,Lillian Street,Crockett,94525 Ken,Hangartner,756,Loring Avenue,Crockett,94525 Armando,Rodriquez,505,Loring Avenue #4,Crockett,94525 Ton i,Williams,100B4Old County Road,Crockett,94525 Dan,Foley,101,Old County Road,Crockett,94525 Robert,Tillery,131,Old County Road,Crockett,94525 Harold,Hutson,151,Old County Road,Crockett,94525 Rareld,14utson,151,Old County Road,CrookeM945-26•- Ron,Zanapa,166,Old County Road,Crockett,92525 Orvil,Sanford,90,Old County Road,Crockett,94525 Dean,Bullert,40,Pennington Court,Crockett,94525 Bill,Gray,1523,Pomona Street,Crockett,94525 Albert,Astiz,1850,Pomona Street,Crockett,94525 Danny,Martinez,1861,Pomona Street,Crockett,94525 Dan,M_artinezrl8fil-sPomona..Street,Crockett,-94525 Corbina,Focurt,147,Rolph Park Drive,Crockett,94525 Elvira,Flores,20,Rolph Park Drive,Crockett,94525 Richard,Memanica,23,Rolph Park Drive,Crockett,94525 August ine,Naggi,29,Rolph Park Drive,Crockett,94525 Mrs.,Nag gi;29,Rolph-P-ark-Drive;Er"kett-194525- Richard,Gonzales,1228,Rose Street,Crockett,94525 Fran k,Ochinero,l 31 5,Rose Street,Crockett,94525 The resa,Costa,1335,Rose Street,Crockett,94525 EvalinCimino,1405,Rose Street,Crockett,94525 Larry,H osler,90,San Pablo Avenue,Crockett,94525 George,Damico,I,Stephens Court,Crockett,94525 Arthur,Rodriguez,341,Virginia Street,Crockett,94525 Axt,Ro d riguez-,341-,Vi rg in ia-Street,Croc kett-,945-25 Bruce,Langley,1932,Vista Del Rio,Crockett,94525 Eleska,Biaga,1942,Vista Del Rio,Crockett,94525 Jeff,Vargen,1995,Vista Del Rio,Crockett,94525 Frank,Miller,2027,Vista Del Rio,Crockett,94525 John,Bellecci,2031,Vista D61 Rio,Crockett,94525 Ed,Reid,2077,Vista Del Rio,Crockett,94525 Donna,Ronchetto,2127,Vista Del Rio,Crockett,94525 Cindy,Koerber,2294,Vista Del Rio,Crockett,94525 Pau 1,Contestable,58,Welle Road,Crockett,94525 Jennie,Marzi,92,Welle Road,Crockett,94525 Les,Bellecci,107,Welle Street,Crockett,94525 Darien e,G ray,269,Wi n slow Street,Crockett,94525 Sandi,Ard,644,Winslow Street,Crockett,94525 Tim,Malailua,822,Winslow Street,Crockett,94525 Tim,Malailua,822,Winslow Street,Crockett,94525 .Denise,Carone,ll,Woodward CourtCrockett,94525 Denise,Carone,ll,Woodward Court,Crockett,94525 Jay,Busby,2140,Olym pic,Martinez,94553 Wade,Nielsen,2113,Valiste Circle,Martinez,94553 -Maria,Welby,2607,Sonoma Way,Pinole,94564 Gregory,Medley,660,Wilson Avenue,Rich mond,94805 Virgil,Cummings,1343,6th Street,Rodeo,94572 Vern,Hendrickson,1 352,6th Street,Rodeo,94572 Jan ie,Santos,247,Garretson AVenue,Rodeo,94572 ATTACHMENT #4 Unocal Petroleum Products&Chemicals.Division Unocal Corporation San Francisco Refinery 1380 San Pablo Avenue Rodeo,California 94572-1299 Telephone(510)799-4411 UNOCALO Stephen Plesh General Manager,San Francisco Refinery September 15, 1994 SP-210-94 Dear Resident: As a follow up to the September 13, 1994, Town Hall Meeting held by the Crockett Improvement Association, we wanted to make sure that your household was aware of the release that occurred from our Refinery, located in Rodeo, on September 5 and 6, 1994. Since discovering the release we have worked quickly to remedy the situation and address specific concerns of the community. We immediately shut down the affected equipment and quickly put together a special team of safety, medical, environmental, operational, insurance adjusters and clean-up personnel. Before I go any further, I would like to apologize to the community for this Incident. The Refinery Is committed to operating In a safe and responsible manner and this Incident Is Inconsistent with our operating philosophy. We have set up a special community phone line (510) 245-4496 to take calls between the hours of 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. from our neighbors and local citizens. During this period personnel will be standing by to answer your questions and to handle any claims you may have. In addition, we have sent teams of Unocal employees into the community to talk to many of the affected homeowners, describing the clean-up efforts currently underway and answering concerns. The Town Hall meeting held by the Crockett Improvement Association on Tuesday evening gave us further insight to community concerns. We are determined to address each and every issue raised. Attached is a fact sheet which may answer some of your questions. Please call the above number, (610) 246-4496, if your claim hasn't already been handled or if you think you or someone in your family may have suffered health effects and/or property damage from the incident. September 15, 1994 SP-210-94 Page 2 We deeply regret this incident. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure operation at all times and I pledge to work diligently to prevent this type of incident from happening again. Very truly yours, SP/abs Attachment M. Supervisor Jeff Smith, Contra Costa Board of Supervisors Alica Anderson, President, Crockett Improvement Association UNOCAL INCIDENT FACT SHEET (9-06-94) The Unocal Refinery in Rodeo had an airborne release of an alkaline solution containing potassium carbonate. This material, which is not a hydrocarbon, appears as a brown, waxy coating when it settles on surfaces and may dry to a soapy residue. The release ended Tuesday, September 6, 1994. What if I have questions? A public information line has been set up to answer questions you might have. Please call (510) 245-4495 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. How is clean-up being handled? To respond and manage the incident, a team of safety, medical, environmental, operations, public affairs, insurance adjusters and clean-up personnel were quickly assembled. Our community hotline was available to take calls 24 hours a day. Our clean-up plan focused on assisting the greatest number of people right away. This meant washing cars and coordinating insurance claims representatives to meet with homeowners. If your claim hasn't already been handled, you can expect a call from a claims representative this week. If necessary, they will set up an appointment to meet with you and examine your property. What if my car or property has been affected? If you have experienced this type of substance on your automobile, please call our public information line. Unocal set up a car washing facility at the refinery to thoroughly wash your car. Please call to set up a time most convenient for you. Please be prepared to give your name, telephone number, address and affected property. What If I have health questions? The release is not considered a serious health threat and no long-term effects are expected from the exposure. If you are experiencing any symptoms which you believe are related to the incident, call (510) 245-4495 or consult a physician. What are the effects on fruit and vegetables? All fruit and vegetables that may have been exposed should be washed with water. How is Unocal responding to community concerns? To properly respond to this incident, it is critical that we have open communications with the community. In an effort to better understand how our neighbors may have been affected, we sent out teams of Unocal employees to meet with more than 85 homeowners face-to-face. Our goal was to listen to concerns, respond to questions and describe our clean-up plan. For other homeowners who weren't home, we left fact sheets that provided an overview and a public information line to call. Unocal officials attended a Crockett Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, September 13, 1994, hosted by the Crockett Improvement Association, to explain the incident and to hear from concerned citizens. What is being done? While the release ended Tuesday, September 6, the Contra Costa County Health Services Department and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District are working closely with Unocal to determine the extent of the release and appropriate response. Attachment Crockett Resident Letter September 14, 1994 ATTACHMENT #5 Unocal Petroleum Products&Chemicals Division Unocal Corporation San Francisco Refinery 1380 San Pablo Avenue Rodeo,California 94572-1299 Telephone(510)799-4411 UNOCAL Stephen Plesh September 15, 1994 SP-211-94 General Manager.San Francisco Refinery Mr. Milton Feldstein Air Pollution Control Officer Bay Area Air Quality Management District 939 Ellis Street San Francisco, CA 94109 Dear Mr. Feldstein: Unocal Release - 9/6/94 We appreciated the attendance of Jim Karas and Richard Nelson at the Crockett Improvement Association town meeting the evening of September 13 and for their presentation of the BAAQMD Fact Sheet which accurately describes the incident and events that followed. As an update, I offer the following information: We have: 1) launched a thorough investigation of the events leading up to the release, the internal communications and notifications of agencies and the public, 2) conducted health assessments of concerned Wickland and Unocal employees, John Swett School District employees and residents of Crockett and Tormey, 3) offered the same to any others who may have been affected, 4) conducted a car washing and detailing program (continuing), 5) washed the windows of houses in Tormey and Crockett (continuing), 6) developed a plan for cleaning damaged property, and 7) begun development of plans for clean-up of the Wickland Oil Terminal and our own refinery. Our meeting with the people of Crockett and Tormey confirmed our feeling that one of the main issues is that of notification of our neighbors as to the onset and follow-up for events which could potentially affect them. In addition to continued support of the BAAQMD's Community Assistance Program (Ten Point Program) and participation in the Contra Costa County CAER Community Warning System, we will investigate at least interim methods to improve our local contact with these neighbors and those to the south. Mr. Milton Feldstein SP-211-94 September 15, 1994 Page 2 We have learned and are learning a great deal through this unfortunate event and have requested that the Chairman of the Contra Costa County Industrial Safety Sharing Forum place a discussion of the release and follow-up on the next available meeting agenda. (See attached letter to Don Manning.) I am available to meet with you if you deem it necessary. Yours very truly, WAS/jag Attachment cc: Supervisor Jeff Smith, Contra Costa Board of Supervisors J. Karas R L. Nelson W. B. Walker, M.D. - CCCHSD Unocal Petroleum Products&Chemicals Division Unocal Corporation San Francisco Refinery 1380 San Pablo Avenue Rodeo.California 94572-1299 Telephone(5 10) 799-441 1 UN®CAL 'w Stephen Plesh September 14, 1994 SP-212-94 General Manager,San Francisco Refinery etinery Mr. Donald V. Manning Vice President, Refining Tosco Refining Company Avon Refinery Martinez, CA 94553-1487 ladustrial Safety Sharing Forum Dear Don, On September 6, Unocal's San Francisco Refinery had a release of Catacarb solution which resulted in impacts to the communities of Tormey and Crockett as well as the Wickland Oil Terminal and the John Swett School District offices. As soon as we were aware of the consequences, we began notifications, assessment of health and property effects and started addressing the immediate concerns of those affected. We are currently conducting a thorough investigation of the causes. We have learned and are learning a lot that should be shared with other industry in Contra Costa County and I request that the subject be placed on the agenda of the neat meeting of the Contra Costa County Industrial Safety Sharing Forum. Please call me at 245-4415 if you wish to discuss the details. Thank you. Very truly yours, WAS/jag 1"P� DATE: REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. NAME: e L)-e P S L� PHONE: --9`� " / ADDRESS: b A J2 CITY: I am speaking formyself OR organization: UA)O LA L (NAME OF ORGA!Vf7.al'lOti� Check one: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # S ' c�- My comments will be: general ✓ for against I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider.