Company Town
Speakers from local environmental and community groups blasted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which is charged with regulating air pollution, and called for accountability from Chevron.
At least 6,300 residents have filed claims for compensation since Monday, according to figures released by Chevron spokesperson Katie Winter.
Inspectors from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District released a statement on the air quality Wednesday stating that the toxins and pollutants in samples they tested were at a “good-to-moderate” range.
A new, smaller, fire flared up Wednesday afternoon near the location of the leak that sparked an inferno at Chevron’s 2,900-acre refinery Monday evening, as hundreds of locals sought medical treatment for eye and respiratory complaints related to the fire.
Throngs of Richmond residents, upset and ready to be heard, gathered at a town hall meeting held by Chevron on Tuesday night, following the refinery fire that cloaked Richmond in a dark cloud of particulates the night before.
Richmond residents this morning woke up to the lingering smell of burnt oil from Chevron’s Richmond Refinery, which caught fire last night following a leak. Firefighters and engineers at the plant put the main fire out early this morning, and Chevron reported that its engineers were monitoring a controlled burn as a safety measure to contain pressure.
At a press conference held Monday night, Richmond Refinery General Manager Nigel Hearne told journalists that firefighters were still fighting the blaze at the plant, and that a small leak in the diesel processing unit had grown and caught fire.
Early this evening, Richmond residents reported hearing sirens and the flames were visible from miles. The rising plumes were dark black, nearly blotting out the sun as they drifted eastward. They were as dark and looked as dense as thunderclouds in certain spots.
Chevron Corp. invested $1 million in seven nonprofits focused on improving science and math education and enhancing economic development in Richmond. On Wednesday, about more than 100 people came to the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts to hear leaders from the seven organizations report on what they accomplished with the money over the last year. Leaders from each group presented short videos highlighting what they did with the money and provided statistics demonstrating everything from improved high school…