Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01211992 - 2.1 a. i TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS �e. L Contra FROM: Mark Finucane , Health Services Director .'lx. Costa By : William B . Walker , M . D., County Health N. Officer ^' ' County DATE: January 21 , 1992 'i `al SUBJECT: Report on Catalyst Release from the Chevron Richmond Refinery on December 5 , 1991 SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION` Accept this report from the Health Services Department. BACKGROUND` The Board of Supervisors requested Health Services Department (HSD) research and report on several issues associated with the 12/5/91 catalyst release from the Chevron Richmond refinery. These issues include: O Developing a program to evaluate programs in place by Chevron for reviewing the valves of the refinery in order to ensure that they do not fail under stress conditions o Requiring Chevron to immediately notify the Environmental Health Division of releases so that delays in response do not occur O Addressing the concerns of the community. Oversight of .Valve Operation and Maintenance Currently the HSD does not have regulatory authority over the operation and maintenance of valves and other process equipment at facilities handling hazardous materials such as the Chevron Richmond refinery. The Hazardous Materials Business Plan Program (Chapter -6 . 95, Health and Safety Code) gives the inspector under this program the authority to note health and safety problems that are observed during a Business Plan inspection. This statutory language does not provide enforcement authority to require that CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON January 21 , 19(;2 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER X Following comments from Henry Clark and Lucille Allen, members of the West County Toxics Coalition, the Board ACCEPTED -the report of the Health Services Director; REQUESTED the Directors of the Office of Emergency Services and the Health Services Department to work with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board in the development of a joint noticing protocol.; REQUESTED the Director, Office of Emergency Services, to secure radio station backup as a part of the alert system network; REQUESTED the Health Services Director to verify the volume of material released into the community and where it went; REQUESTED Health Services staff to monitor the Air Board's investigation relative to the history of the valve involved in -the release; and REQUESTED the County Toxics Coalition to network with the community to encourage residents with unlisted telephone numbers to enroll their unlisted numbers in the Community Alert Network. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE XX UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) 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. January 21, 1992 CC: County Administrator ATTESTED Director, office of Emergency- Services PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Health Services Director SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR County Toxics Coalition ff`i M382 (10/88) BY t ' �` ��� DEPUTY Board of Supervisors Page 2 corrective actions be taken by a facility as a result of the observation being noted. HSD has contacted the BAAQMD to determine the scope of regulatory authority they have over such aspects of a facility' s operations in order to determine if we could assist them in their review. Concurrently, HSD is evaluating options available for both establishing regulatory authority over this element of a facility' s operations and enforcement of violations associated with releases related to such accidents. HSD believes that the only effective way to ensure that valve malfunctions and other equipment failures are minimized is to have clear regulatory requirements with the appropriate level of enforcement supporting these requirements. Early Notification to HSD by Chevron Chevron notified the Environmental Health Division of the 12/5/91 catalyst release approximately one-half hour after the incident began. HSD has notified Chevron that this delay in notification is not acceptable. We have been working with Chevron staff to identify means of reducing the time it takes to make the appropriate notification to the Environmental Health Division. Some progress has already been made in this area in that certain industry practices are being questioned and modified as necessary. For instance, an industry practice is to send facility staff to the perimeter of the facility to take measurements before notifying any regulatory agencies. We have identified to Chevron that such a measure is not appropriate and that notification should be made prior to dispatching this staff. Chevron has agreed to follow these guidelines. Under the best of circumstances we recognize that notification to Environmental Health Division will likely not occur until five to ten minutes after an incident is identified. We have also recognized that the earliest we can activate the CAN system to notify the community of an incident will be ten to fifteen minutes from the time we receive the initial call. Had these times been realized during the 12/5/91 catalyst release, the notification to the community would have been timely and protective measures could have been taken. However, we recognize that under other hazardous material release scenarios, the time necessary to notify the community does not provide optimal assurances that the potential impacts on the community will be avoided or minimized. The CAN system has an important place in a community notification network. HSD is aggressively researching options to enhance the County' s community notification systems so that we can maximize our ability to protect the public health from hazardous materials releases. Community Concerns HSD is committed to addressing the concerns of the residents of Contra Costa County, particularly those who live near industrial facilities. The actions taken by HSD staff in response to the 12/5/91 catalyst release were driven by a goal that the public health be protected from any potential exposures to the catalyst released. This approach was maintained throughout the response until adequate data and information was available to assess the actual hazardous properties of the material involved. HSD is very concerned about this and a series of other accidents that have occurred recently at the Chevron refinery. The Risk Management and Prevention Program (RMPP) is one tool for reviewing Chevron' s operations and activities for reducing the risk of accidents. HSD will be scrutinizing Chevron' s RMPP carefully in light of recent Board of Supervisors Page 3 events and will be extending the public review period to 2/15/92 to allow greater participation by interested members of the public. Summary In addition to the above, the HSD will: a) Hold a meeting no later than February 7 , 1992 with top officials at Chevron' s Richmond refinery to discuss the recent series of incidents at the Chevron refinery to stress our deep concerns about overall operations that may have lead to this situation. b) Explore options to expand regulatory and enforcement authority over hazardous materials and to increase general oversight. c) Explore additional measures to improve our notification system. d) HSD will report back to the Board the results of these actions. Health Effects HSD has prepared a final report regarding our investigation into the possible health effects resulting from this incident. It is attached and will be sent to all interested members of the community and the press. Community Alert Network Attached also is a memo from Dr. Walker to the Board summarizing the CAN activation on December 5th. It identifies the problems encountered and the solutions which are being pursued. s� --- Contra Costa County Ar Health Services Department William B. Walker, M.D. y'•, J �*�° Medical Director and _ cou -c$~ County Health Officer ST'4 Date: January 13,1991 To: Board of Supervisors From: - William B. Walker, M.D. ✓'��'G'�� Health Officer Subj : Community Alert Network December 5, 1991 Activation ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- On December 5, 1991, the Community Alert Network (CAN) was activated to notify residents in Richmond of a release at the Chevron Refinery. As a result of this activation, several problem areas were identified with regard to delays in the notification process and the manner in which the CAN system operated. Summarized below are the results of our investigation into the Community Alert Network activation of December 5th and remedial actions taken or planned in response to problem areas identified. 1 . TIME DELAY Approximately 90 minutes elapsed from the. time that the release occurred until the first CAN calls were made. This 90 minutes consisted of: a) 30 minute delay before Chevron notified County Environmental Health of the release; b) a second 30 minute delay while Environmental Health staff determined the exact Thomas Brothers coordinates and exact wording of the announcement to provide to the CAN operator; and c) a third 30 minute delay on the part of the CAN operator in beginning to place the calls . We have been working with industry on an ongoing basis with regard to the importance of making immediate notification and will continue to do so. In order to streamline the communication between Environmental Health staff and the CAN system, we have prepared and added a pre-recorded message. to the system that will eliminate any time delay associated with developing a message. In addition, because this is a relatively new system, we have instituted an intensified training and. drill program to further familiarize our emergency response team members with the process of activating the system. We are currently working with CAN to 20 Allen Street• Martinez,CA 94553•(510)370-5010 Office• (510)370-5098 FAX A-428 (9/91) taken steps and will continue to work with the Community Alert Network toward eliminating the types of problems encountered during the December 5th activation. We continue to be confident that the Community Alert Network will be a very effective part of our community notification system. Attachment cc: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Mark Finucane, Health Services Director Gary Brown, Director, OES Contra Costa County _ - Health Services Department William B. Walker, M.D. •, ;ti� Medical Director and County Health Officer sra-coin January 16, 1992 FINAL REPORT ON THE DECEMBER 5TH DUST RELEASE FROM THE CHEVRON REFINERY Large volumes of hazardous materials are transported, stored or manufactured throughout Contra Costa County every day,which can result in accidental spills with potentially harmful effects on neighboring communities.Such accidents are unacceptable to the Health Services Department (HSD) and the residents of Contra Costa County, and the HSD has made preventing and preparing for such accidents one of its highest priorities. The HSD shares the concerns and outrage of Richmond residents about the December 5 accident at the Chevron refinery in which tons of catalyst dust were released onto their homes and streets. The HSD took immediate action to determine what material was released and whether it was dangerous as well as to implement measures to minimize exposure to the dust. This report summarizes the results of our investigation. After extensive consultations with the State Department of Health Services and other agencies, the HSD wants to reassure residents that there is no increased risk of cancer, birth defects or other long-term health problems as a result of this incident. Nevertheless, this incident points to the very real possibility of a hazardous material spill that could seriously endanger residents. HSD is committed to taking all necessary actions to reduce the risk of accidents involving hazardous materials that may impact neighboring communities and will be exploring a number of options to improve our regulatory and enforcement, notification, and prevention programs. Sampling Results The HSD coordinated and conducted environmental sampling following the release. Three types of samples were taken: air, soil and wipe. Wipe samples provide qualitative information on how far the dust travelled,whereas soil and air samples can be analyzed for the levels of nickel and vanadium in the air and soil,which indicate how much dust may still be airborne and how much has settled. Using previously established background standards for these compounds, the public health risk from the dust can be estimated. HSD staff took twenty surface wipe samples from the Point Richmond, Brickyard Cove and North Richmond areas -- 13 on Friday, December 6 and 7 on Saturday, December 7. 20 Allen Street• Martinez,CA 94553•(510)370-5010 Office•(510)370-5098 FAX A-428 (9/91) to nickel. These symptoms should not persist. However, according to Dr. Richard J. Jackson, Chief of the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Branch of the Cal-EPA, "it is highly unlikely that exposure to airborne nickel immediately after the release would be sufficient to create an allergy to nickel in a person who was previously not allergic to it." After extensive investigation and consultation with the BAAQMD and the Cal-EPA, the HSD wants to reassure residents that this incident will not result in any long-term health consequences. No increased risk of cancer or birth defects, even among residents who live in the high impact areas, will occur. Even assuming worst case exposure levels based on modelling and the degree to which the nickel and vanadium remain bound to the catalyst dust, the concentration of nickel in the dust was lower than the current allowable level for workplace air, which assumes exposure eight hours a day, five days a week, over a period of years. It is under these circumstances of constant and long-term exposure and when the level of airborne nickel exceeds occupational standards that nickel can cause cancer. With regard to vanadium, Dr. Richard Jackson states that, although vanadium exposure in high concentrations can cause "acute respiratory irritation . . . it is not believed to cause chronic pulmonary effects." As to other lung disease, Dr. Jackson further states that "the risk of developing long-term respiratory disease from exposure to the catalyst during the period of maximal exposure is extremely small." The HSD has set up a clinic for individuals who believe they are experiencing health effects from exposure to the catalyst. Please call Vee Ainars, Public Health Nurse (510) 374-3101 for further information. WW:BM:no fmal.chv