Air Quality & Safety
Chevron Richmond Refinery Sulfur Release Topped Six Times State Limit, Air District Says
More than 130 complaints were logged across Richmond, El Cerrito, San Pablo, and Pinole as Supervisor John Gioia questioned a four-hour gap before Chevron’s community alert.
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A "rotten egg" sulfur odor reported across West Contra Costa County on Thursday evening was traced to hydrogen sulfide pollution from the Chevron Richmond Refinery that reached more than six times California's safe baseline, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced Friday.
According to the Air District, hydrogen sulfide concentrations were measured at more than 200 parts per billion at 7 p.m. Thursday — more than six times above the 30 parts per billion safe baseline established by California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. At one monitoring station, average concentrations exceeded the state baseline for six out of nine hours.
Over 130 Complaints Across Four West County Cities
Residents began filing odor complaints with the Air District at 6:09 p.m. Thursday, with total complaints exceeding 130 over the course of the evening.
Contra Costa County District 1 Supervisor John Gioia said in a statement that the release "had serious consequences for our community (including nausea) and impacted residents in the Greater Richmond area, including El Cerrito, San Pablo and Pinole."
Air District inspectors and Chevron staff arrived at the refinery around 10:45 p.m. Thursday, joined by Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Hazmat personnel. Investigators traced the odor to an area of the facility just downwind of the refinery flares, though the Air District noted that the exact equipment source was not immediately identified.
Four-Hour Gap Before Community Warning System Alert
Chevron issued a Level 1 Community Warning System alert — one level below a public health advisory — at 12:19 a.m. Friday. According to the Air District, the company's alert listed the release time as 12:10 a.m. Friday, roughly six hours after community odor complaints began at 6:09 p.m. Thursday.
Supervisor Gioia called for regulators to examine the notification delay as part of the ongoing investigation.
"I am very concerned about the four-hour gap between when the odors were traced to the refinery and when Chevron's CWS alert went out," Gioia said. "This needs to be investigated as part of the full investigation now underway."
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