Information by Region - Bay Area
Click here to find current real time refinery air monitoring data
Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD)
Contra Costa County
- Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Program
- Provides specific information about:
- Accidents History at Chemical/Refinery Plants
- Facility Safety Audit Summaries
- Incident Response
- Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO)
- California Accidental Release Prevention (CalARP) Program
- Contra Costa County Risk Management Plans
- Contra Costa Health Services requires all refineries within the county limits to submit a Risk Management Plan. A searchable list of all regulated facilities, current audit findings, and the regulated chemicals onsite is provided in the link above.
Refinery Links - Northern California
Past Information
Power Outage at the Valero Benicia Refinery Triggers Flaring. (May 2017)
A power outage at the Valero refinery in Benicia triggered flaring and dense black smoke, prompting a shelter-in-place and evacuations in the city for a couple of hours on Friday, May 5th. A PG&E power disruption caused thick plumes of smoke to waft into the nearby Industrial Park. As a result, the Benicia Industrial Park was ordered to evacuate and a shelter-in-place order for students at the surrounding elementary schools.
CARB arrived on scene around 1100 on Friday, May 5th and provided emergency air monitoring support. Two particulate matter monitors were deployed during the incident:
- The first instrument was deployed to the Benicia Fire Department,
- A second instrument was deployed in the north east area of the Industrial Park in a CalTrans Maintenance Yard.
Particulate matter levels remained within the Good to Moderate Air Quality Index range for the duration of the incident.