Chevron Richmond Refinery Investigation
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has made claims that a Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, California has been incinerating pollutants in an unmonitored gas flare, releasing dangerous chemicals into the air. Now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is investigating.Problems began with the Richmond refinery back in 2009, when two inspectors saw a flare from a pipe releasing gas into the air. The investigators asked to see Chevron's pollution monitoring equipment and discovered that it wasn't recording anything. According to Chevron, the pipe was meant to help balance pressure, but investigators could find no real need for it. The pipe bypass was used 27 times in the past 2 years, which investigators claim was completely unecessary.
This August, a massive blaze broke out at the refinery, causing 900 people to be rushed to the emergency room for symptoms arising from the toxic smoke. A thousand people or so made legal claims and Chevron paid for some of their medical costs.
More than a third of Richmond's population lives below the poverty level. Many have moved there because they want to have the opportunities of living in the Bay Area, but cannot afford the cost of living in some of its nicer areas. Pollution has plagued the city for a long time, and one resident, Constance Delaney, said, "We moved here from San Francisco because we couldn't afford it there anymore. Now we know why Richmond was so cheap. But a few hundred dollars isn't going to help us move somewhere without all this pollution." The refinery has been cited by San Francisco Bay area regulators for violating air regulations 93 times in the past five years.
It hardly needs saying that if allegations turn out to be true, Chevron will be in major trouble. Bypassing federal regulations by interfering with monitoring is a criminal act.
4 comments:
Big companies are always trying their best to dodge the government. Fortunately, California is a heavily Democratic state meaning less business, and more for the people. However, I doubt a few words will cause Chevron to back down. I would not be surprised if Chevron hires some lawyer that will try its best to find a loophole in any of the air regulations. The view I hold might be a bit skeptical, but honestly, many big businesses will try and find a loophole. That's why they're big businesses and not some family store.
I also don't think Chevron will back down considering that it is such a large company and will probably try to find loopholes in these environmental regulations. If there is solid evidence of toxic chemicals released from this Chevron refinery, I think it's slightly ridiculous for Chevron to fight and try to find a loophole, especially when this refinery has a reputation for violating air regulations. Also, I think environmental regulations should be stricter for large companies because they clearly have a huge impact on pollution due to their sheer size; therefore, I think that the EPA should mercilessly investigate this case and try to minimize the possibilities of Chevron finding any loopholes.
Post a Comment