Residents Concerned Over Multiple Martinez Refinery Incidents

A bigger-than-usual flaring at the Martinez Refinery took place Friday evening and left residents feeling unsettled.

The Martinez Refinery company said the flaring was caused by an equipment malfunction, and stated "the flare worked as designed to safely combust excess hydrocarbons efficiently and effectively."

"It was kind of scary because you don't know what that was, and worrying about my family," said a resident.

Officials said the incident did not pose an immediate threat, but the flaring came on the heels of another troubling incident that took place on Thanksgiving.

That incident was caused by an accidental release of spent catalyst that resulted in a powdery dust containing heavy metals that left cars covered in ash.

The county said the refinery failed to immediately notify them of said incident. Now, both cases are under investigation.

"We are taking these events seriously and we're investigating the events to the fullest of our ability to completely understand the impacts that have happened to the community," explained Nicole Heath of Contra Costa Hazardous Materials Program.

Martinez's newly elected mayor, Brianne Zorn, said it's imperative the community is kept informed about any potential problems at the refinery, and said the city is looking at instating its own warning system.

"People are expecting push notifications, they want their phones to tell them instantly what's going on," Zorn said. "It's pretty clear our community is asking for more communication."

Stephen Allen, a refinery neighbor, said having multiple incidents in a matter of weeks is alarming. His car was left covered with soot on Thanksgiving and now he's been rattled again.

"That's the big worry. Is it going to harm us in the long run? Maybe not now but later on in life. We don't know," he said.

Both the county and the state are investigating the incidents.