Residents living near the Chevron Richmond Refinery face a lifetime cancer risk of 37 in a million from the facility’s toxic air emissions, according to a preliminary health risk assessment released by regional air regulators. That figure is more than three times higher than the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s mandatory action threshold of 10 in a million, the level at which the district requires facility-wide risk reduction plans.
The finding, first detailed by KQED, comes from a health risk assessment BAAQMD conducted under Rule 11-18, a regulation adopted in November 2017 specifically to reduce toxic air contaminants from existing industrial facilities. CBS News, which also covered the report, aired the finding as part of its ongoing coverage of the refinery, with reporter Katie Nielsen detailing the emissions and associated health risks. According to CBS News, the district’s report attributes 74 percent of the estimated cancer risk to benzo[a]pyrene leaking from pipe fittings and storage tanks across the facility.
Where the Risk Is Coming From
The same report found that elevated short-term, non-cancer health risks stem mainly from benzene evaporating out of the refinery’s wastewater treatment systems, the outlet reported. Both compounds are hazardous air pollutants long associated with petroleum refining operations, and their identification gives regulators a specific target for any required fixes at the Richmond facility.
Chevron has pushed back on the district’s methodology. The company claims the air district’s emissions model relies on worst-case modeling assumptions and includes disused equipment that no longer reflects actual refinery operations, per the same report. Chevron also noted that neighboring air districts set considerably higher cancer risk action thresholds — 25 in a million in the Los Angeles basin and 100 in a million in the San Joaquin Valley — arguing that BAAQMD’s 10-in-a-million standard is the strictest in California.
A Regulatory Clock Now Running
The preliminary assessment opens a public comment period running through November 23, before regulators finalize any risk reduction requirements, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Rule 11-18 was updated this year to accelerate the review and comment timeline for facility risk assessments like this one, giving both Chevron and Richmond residents a window to weigh in before any mandated changes take effect…