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Tosco Refinery: History of the Project
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
| Entrepreneurs and industrialists began to develop the western Carquinez Strait region more than 100 years ago. Industrial expansion drove developers to seek access to this navigable waterway. In February 1896, Union Oil Company opened a refinery in Oleum (presently called Rodeo) approximately three miles southwest of Crockett. Union selected this site on San Pablo Bay so that it could receive tankers and barges carrying crude oil. |
At first, the refinery processed about 1,500 barrels of crude a day and occupied only 22 acres on the shoreline. Over the years, the company responded to changes in products and consumer demands by enlarging and re-equipping the plant. During the mid-1950s, the company developed a process of catalytic hydrodesulfurization called "unicracking" or hydrocracking. This process reduced the amount of non-marketable waste materials and increased plant efficiency. The facility's hydrocracking capacity was increased in the early 1970s.
Neighborhood Involvement and Local Health
By 1994, the refinery had spread to cover 1,100 acres of shoreline and inland hills. By this time, the refinery had the capacity to process 100,000 oil barrels a day and it averaged 77,000 barrels a day in crude oil production. More than 500 people were employed, and the refinery operated 24 hours a day.
As it expanded, the unpopulated buffer zone between the refinery and residential neighborhoods shrank. The John Swett Unified School District's elementary school is now positioned on the Tosco fenceline. Low-income and minority populations also inhabit many of the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Photo by Jim Gallagher, Contra Costa Health Services |
In August 1994, tower D-409 failed. Over a 16-day period, this tower released an estimated 200 tons of the toxic compound Catacarb® (which contains potassium, diethanolamine, boron, and vanadium/metavanadate) into the air. In the past, odors, accidents, and problems associated with the local industries were overlooked because of the well-paying jobs provided for local residents. In more recent years, however, most refinery employees live outside of the local community. 1
Toxic Gas Monitoring Required
Following the Catacarb incident, refinery neighbors negotiated requirements for more sophisticated monitoring. These requirements were included in a Good Neighbor Agreement signed by four local community groups, Shoreline Environmental Alliance (SEA), Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), the Rodeo Citizens Association (RCA), and the Crockett Improvement Association (CIA). A subsequent refinery request to the County for a new land use permit resulted in the County setting more specific requirements for the refinery to work with the Good Neighbor signatories. The refinery and the signatories would collaborate to develop the optical monitoring system, identify manufacturers, work through a 6-month test program, and submit the final system for approval by the Contra Costa County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.
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| Photo by Jim Gallagher, Contra Costa Health Services |
In 1999, EPA awarded grants to help the County and two of the community groups assess and use the monitoring data. The grants required the three partners to review the data's accuracy, to determine who might use the data, and to decide how best to present the data to users. The grants also required the formation of a working group, composed primarily of government agencies, to advise the partners and help them prepare recommendations on data presentation and use.
Questions about the Monitoring Plan
From the beginning, community representatives working with the refinery have sought answers to the most basic questions:
- Do optical remote systems really work?
- Can they provide reliable data on a continuous basis?
- Can the various devices be integrated into a single comprehensive monitoring system?
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Photo by Christy Shake |
The process created some controversy. Community members opposed Unocal's proposal to monitor a small set of acutely hazardous chemicals. Instead, they proposed that a broad range of toxics be monitored. County officials decided during a series of intense public hearings that the monitoring system was should not only identify large accidental releases, but also monitor ongoing levels of air pollution from the refinery.
Unocal ultimately agreed to put in a full range of monitoring equipment. Included were broadly functioning devices which could measure hundreds of chemicals, as well as more specialized equipment to measure compounds that pose significant health and/or environmental risks.
The unprecedented Good Neighbor Agreement mandated not only state-of-the-art, real-time, 24-hour optical sensing of dozens of chemicals, but also required the sharing of all data with the community, and placement of a real-time computer monitoring screen in the home of a local resident.
Today, nearly seven years after the 16-day chemical release which led to installation of the system, many residents feel the refinery company deserves credit for installing this innovative monitoring system.
Working Toward Quality Assurance
In April 1997, Unocal sold its West Coast refining operations to Tosco Corporation. The new company inherited the Good Neighbor Agreement and Land Use Permit requirements on monitoring.
In the last few years, an abundance of systems operation problems have been debated by fenceline monitoring committee members (now made up of Tosco, SEA, and CBE). Over time, Tosco agreed to develop a Quality Assurance plan.
Tosco and the community have made significant improvements to the monitoring system, but some problems remain unresolved. The intense level of monitoring creates a large quanity of data. However, ongoing independent data review, as well as broader public access to the data, would make the system more usable.
Working together with the refinery, community partners have identified solutions to some of the problems faced in administering such a complex monitoring system. Still, a number of key data challenges remain before a quality assurance plan will be acceptable by both EPA, Contra Costa County, and the community.
How the Fenceline Monitors Work >>
1 Dare, Sandra J. Environmental Conflict and Grassroots Activism in the Crockett/Rodeo Area. San Jose State University Master of Science Thesis, 1999.
Opening photo by Christy Shake
