For immediate release, 5/16/2015
Today's coverage of the truck rollover on Highway 4 near Bay Point glossed over the serious nature of community and worker exposure to the petroleum coke (petcoke) that was spilled in the accident.
Petcoke is very lightweight and can easily become airborne. It contains heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, and vanadium, as well as carcinogenic PAHs. Health experts say that petcoke is equivalent to coal for lung disease potential. Inhaling petcoke can cause serious respiratory problems, particularly for individuals suffering from heart and lung disease and asthma. See petcoke fact sheet.
Petcoke is a byproduct of the oil refining process. The heavier the grade of crude, the more petcoke is produced. Therefore, this threat will continue to escalate as long as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District continues to issue permits for local refineries to take in heavier and dirtier grades of crude oil such as tar sands. Greater petcoke production means more toxic dust will be blown into communities near the refineries; trucks transporting the material will release dust in transit to export facilities where the product is stored in open-air piles; and incidents like this morning’s spill will be more likely.
We are calling on the Air District to consider petcoke hazards — along with other serious impacts on local air quality and global climate — and deny permits for local refineries to be able to process dirtier grades of crude oil. There is more the Air District can do to protect public health. The Southern California Air Quality Management District has already implemented strict regulations on the storage, handling, and export of petcoke and coal.
There is an operating petcoke-export facility at the privately-held Levin Richmond Terminal in Richmond. The Richmond City Council will be voting this Tuesday, May 19th, to urge the Air District to better regulate coal and petcoke storage and transport; and, in an adjoining resolution, to prohibit the public terminals in Richmond from being used for coal or petcoke exports.
The regulation from the Southern California Air District is attached as well as additional information on the hazards of petroleum coke to human health and the environment.
We hope that the workers who cleaned up the petcoke spill in Bay Point this morning took precaution and used appropriate respiratory protection.