Environment
Take it from a man who climbed Mount Everest six times: anything is possible.
On Aug. 6 of last year, the rough draft of a federal investigation says, an employee at the Chevron Richmond refinery noticed a puddle on the ground.
In late March 2013, a group of about 25 attended a “Toxic Tour” of Richmond led by Communities for a Better Environment organizer Andres Soto.
Chevron failed to properly document a thinning pipe in the Richmond refinery’s crude unit back in 2002, the company admitted Friday, when the oil giant released its findings from its own investigation into the cause of last August’s refinery fire. The company concluded sulfur corrosion, accelerated by low silicon content, caused the five-foot carbon steel pipe to spring a leak and eventually ignite. “We have identified what went wrong and are taking steps to prevent a similar incident in the future,” said…
Despite all the eyes on the Richmond Chevron refinery before last August’s fire, the plant’s corroded crude pipe still went unnoticed, federal and state officials said Friday. Federal and state investigators have determined Chevron disregarded its own safety policies and knowingly failed to replace the corroded pipe that ultimately burst, leading to the leaking gas igniting. The blaze sent a column of toxic smoke into the air, endangering plant workers and causing thousands of local residents to seek medical attention…
Utility company Pacific Gas & Electric filed a letter with state officials this week retaining its right to “express its views” on alternative energy programs like MCE, Richmond’s new green energy provider.
Efforts to have Richmond Assistant City Attorney and Human Resources Director Leslie Knight removed from her position were deterred Tuesday evening, when a resolution calling for her dismissal was taken off the city council agenda shortly before the meeting. The resolution, introduced by Councilmember Jovanka Beckles, recommended that City Manager Bill Lindsay, who has the power to fire employees, terminate Knight for violating city policies, as found in a city-funded independent investigation. In a public statement Lindsay released in March,…
Last week, BART officials launched a five-day pilot program to see if bikes and people could fit comfortably onto its trains at all times. Now they are asking the public to complete an online survey that seeks to measure whether the experiment was a success.
Shweta Narayan, one of India’s leading environmentalists, paid the Bay Area a visit last week and presented information about the importance of environmental monitoring when it comes to toxic disasters. For the past nine years, Narayan, and Global Community Monitor, a group based in El Cerrito, have collaborated on air pollution awareness campaigns in India, where she coordinates Community Environmental Monitoring. Narayan spoke at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco and Center for Environmental Health in Oakland. “It’s…