Martinez Refining Company Shares Plans To Reduce Emissions, Train Staff

Representatives from the Martinez Refining Company this week detailed plans to enhance worker training and reduce emissions as required by a lawsuit settlement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

During a Martinez City Council meeting on Wednesday, Daniel Ingram, MRC’s refinery manager, said the facility improvements will result in an 80% reduction in particulate emissions from the refinery’s Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit — 10% higher than the 70% as agreed upon in the settlement.

“There are some improvements that we’ll be making to some of that equipment that will allow us to better condition and basically capture and control those emissions before they enter the atmosphere,” Ingram said.

Ingram explained that the company has invested a half billion dollars in improvements since its owner, PBF Energy Inc., acquired it in February 2020, and it forecasts investing $70 million more into maintenance projects to improve emissions.

But also since that time, about half of the workforce at MRC has turned over, and attrition and hiring has impeded the refinery’s ability to develop staff, Ingram said. For 2024, the company’s priority will be on enhancing their training and development programs for all employees, which will also entail hiring retirees for their expertise.

“Every single department at every level of the organization all the way through the leadership team is putting together a very robust training plan,” Ingram said. “We’re going to be leveraging industry experts external to the refinery into the company, as well as other company experts outside the refinery and then some internal folks within the refinery.”

The efforts follow a long history of what Contra Costa Health called an “unacceptable number of hazardous materials releases” at the refinery. In a December 2023 letter to Ingram, CCH cited 21 releases or spills in one year alone and laid out a list of demands — one being a plan from PBF detailing ways to reduce the amount of flarings, along with a schedule of when they would occur. That plan is due to the county health department in May.

The efforts also follow a settlement reached in February this year after MRC and Chevron together in 2021 sued the regional air district for its emissions-reductions rule.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Heidi Taylor, founder of Healthy Martinez — a grassroots group that aims to hold MRC accountable for its damage to the environment and community — urged MRC to not “clog our courts with frivolous lawsuits” again.

“I’m not sure what to believe here tonight, but I’m going to go ahead and take you on your word that … you are pulling ammonia and sulfur dioxide out of your process,” Taylor said.

She demanded to know why the next slide valve inspection was slated for 2025 when they hadn’t been inspected since 2018. Slide valves are pieces of equipment that act as barriers to prevent explosions.

“Don’t make us wait for that next year. Those slide valves can wear out in three to five years, and I believe you know this from the employees at Shell, probably the retirees who have been telling you this,” she said.

“You also know what happens when a slide valve fails. It can cause an explosion like what happened in Torrance in 2015.”

On Feb. 18, 2015, an explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance in Southern California injured four workers, caused serious property damage to the refinery and scattered catalyst dust up to a mile away from the facility into the nearby community.

In its final report two years later, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board determined that on the day of the explosion, a slide valve failure allowed hydrocarbons to flow into the air side of a catalytic unit where they ignited in a piece of equipment and caused an explosion.

Ingram agreed with Taylor on the importance of slide valves.

“Rest assured that slide valves will be 100% like new condition or new condition when they go back in at the end of the turnaround in the first quarter of next year,” Ingram said.

In a separate interview with a reporter, Taylor further wanted to know why health outcomes in the neighborhoods near the refinery’s fence line — where she resides — aren’t being tracked. She pointed out that the U.S. Census tracts that border MRC are predominantly made up of people of color.

“Where are the stats for our refinery corridor?” she said. “You’ve got Las Juntas Elementary right there on the fence line.”

The National Library of Medicine reports proximity to an oil refinery is associated with an increased risk of multiple cancer types and respiratory problems. An inquiry to CCH determined that the health agency does not monitor health data related to specific businesses or facilities.

Broad city and county data from the California Department of Public Health showed, based on population size compared to the whole of Contra Costa County, that the city of Martinez had slightly higher reports of death for heart diseases, cancers, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases (strokes or diseases relating to the brain) from 2020 through 2023.

Additional data from the CDPH asthma dashboard reporting lifetime cases of asthma in the most recent data year (2019-2020) found the counties of Solano (22.3%), Napa (22%), Marin (19.6%) and Contra Costa (17.9%) to have the highest percentages among the greater Bay Area’s 12 counties for cases of asthma.

For many who spoke during the meeting, MRC had been a place that provided a great salary with benefits for workers, including single mothers who no longer needed to work three jobs. Others noted that they were members of the community who also cared about the city of Martinez.

Speaker Chuck Leonard, who identified himself as an employee who got his start in 1984, commended the company for its improved safety and shared that his daughter and grandson also worked for MRC. He also thanked the community members for their role in making the refinery safer.

“It’s because of you and your engagement, your expectations of transparency and your expectations of holding Martinez Refining Company accountable that’s brought safety to the forefront,” Leonard said.

And Taylor said she and her group at Healthy Martinez will continue to hold MRC accountable.

“Their apologies and promises mean nothing,” she said during an interview. “Come into compliance now.”