On November 24 and 25, 2022, a powdery substance was released into the community by Martinez Refining Company (MRC), which is owned and operated by PBF Energy. This accidental release of “spent catalyst,” containing higher than normal amounts of heavy metals, began at about 9:30 p.m. on November 24 and into the early morning of November 25.

A community-involved committee overseeing an independent risk assessment of the spent catalyst release received the initial results of the assessment on June 8. The County hired a toxicologist, TRC, to take soil samples from affected areas and analyze those samples for potential health concerns. TRC reported that the release did not increase risk to public health from exposure to hazardous metals in the soil.

In response, Contra Costa Health lifted its March 7 health advisory regarding consumption of produce grown in soil near the site of the release.

The County has hired another firm to do an independent root-cause analysis to determine why the accident happened and how it can be prevented from happening again. The District Attorney is also pursuing legal action against the refinery for not notifying County health officials when the accident happened.

Additional significant events have occurred since, including multiple coke exhaust releases (as recently as October 2023), and scheduled and unscheduled flaring events. 

MRC Claims Line

Call 800-542-7113 to contact Martinez Refining Company regarding concerns related to the Nov. 24-25, 2022 release or follow-up incidents.

 Important Links:

• County Health's Website on the 2022 Release
• All other County Hazmat information can be found at www.cchealth.org/hazmat.