Environmental Health (News)
Health Officials Say Campus Bay Safe for Current Use, Not Homes
Dateline:
08/21/2008While state and county health officials said a chemically contaminated site in southeast Richmond poses no dangers to their current users, concerns remain about past users and those to come.
They also acknowledge that their findings don’t include the possible interactions between the more than 100 toxic metals and chemicals found at the site.
Ethel Dotson, who initiated the Community Advisory Group [CAG] now advising the state about cleanups at Campus Bay and UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station, died Nov. 1 in the firm conviction her cancer was caused by exposure during her childhood.
Chevron pays a high price for refinery
Dateline:
12/31/1969Article Launched: 08/14/2008 12:37:32 AM PDT
RICHMOND - From the corner of Standard Avenue and Main Street at the big Chevron oil refinery in this gritty city by the bay, the pipes seem to stretch forever in every direction. Carrying crude oil, gasoline and everything in between, they snake for miles through the refinery - 8,000 miles, almost three trips across the United States. That's how massive this place is.
Every third car driving on Northern California roads is powered by gas from Chevron's plant. Almost every quart of motor oil sold on the West Coast has ingredients from here.
The scale of the refinery is a testament to our oil-driven society.
Related stories:
Environmental justice in action
Dateline:
08/04/2008
During Richmond's recent public hearings on expansion plans for the Chevron refinery, Dr. Henry Clark was there to speak on the potential health consequences of the project on residents around the oil processing facility, particularly people in disadvantaged communities.
As executive director of the West County Toxics Coalition, a group he founded 22 years ago, Clark has been a tireless advocate on environmental justice issues before the phrase was commonly used. Five years ago, Contra Costa County recognized the cause by adopting an environmental justice policy, and last month supervisors formally accepted an Environmental Justice Framework submitted by Contra Costa Health Services for inclusion in the county health department's policy.
Chevron's record profit fleeting?
Dateline:
08/02/2008SAN RAMON — Chevron Corp. rocketed to record quarterly profits of $5.98 billion, the oil giant reported Friday, but analysts warned that the San Ramon firm's profit gusher may ebb if sky-high oil prices morph into a temporary oil bubble.
Profits for the second quarter jumped 11 percent from a year ago, Chevron said. Yet the per-share profit of $2.90 fell short of Wall Street's expectations of $3.03. Chevron's shares fell 25 cents, or 0.3 percent, to finish at $84.31.
Still, analysts were pleased about the report overall.
"These numbers were great," said Robbert Van Batenburg, head of research with Louis Capital Markets.
Related stories:
Richmond leaders to sit on committee distributing $10 million from Chevron
Dateline:
07/31/2008In a vote shouted down by the audience, Richmond city leaders appointed themselves to a committee that will decide how $10 million from a community benefits agreement with Chevron will be spent.
Council members Nat Bates, Ludmyrna Lopez and Harpreet Sandhu will sit on the committee. Councilman John Marquez will serve as the alternate.
Related stories:
Swanson marches with Port drivers
Dateline:
07/29/2008Assemblyman Sandré Swanson, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment, recently joined with nearly 1,000 labor leaders, port drivers, environmentalists, clergy and others in a march and rally to draw attention to the plight of California’s port truck drivers, including those working at the Port of Oakland.
“The current system is broken. It is wreaking economic havoc and creating a public health crisis for our workers and local communities,” said Swanson.
The march began at the Oakland Marriott and ended at the Port of Oakland headquarters near Jack London Square.
Related stories:
Chevron: No harmful impact from sulfur spill at Richmond refinery
Dateline:
07/28/2008RICHMOND — A sulfuric acid spill at the Chevron refinery this morning has caused no injuries or adverse effects to surrounding areas, the company said.
A leak in a pipeline containing the chemical was discovered around 8:10 a.m. and involved about 1,000 pounds of the liquid, said Chevron spokesman Walt Gill.
Because the sulfuric acid was in liquid and not vapor form, there was no harmful odor emitted, Gill said. Crews have been dispatched to clean up the spill.
Even though the spill did not cause any significant damage or harm, Gill said, the volume of the spill required the company to report it to county and state authorities.
Related stories:
Reader's Forum: Dissenting view on Chevron refinery vote
Dateline:
07/26/2008NOT SINCE 1994 when another billion dollar Chevron project was up for approval, has the Richmond City Council rolled over so completely as it did on July 16 when a five-person majority (Maria Viramontes, Nathaniel Bates, Ludmyrna Lopez, John E. Marquez and Harpeet Sandhu) certified a fatally flawed EIR, gutted essential conditions from a use permit and adopted a "Community Benefits Agreement" — all these actions leaving stunned Richmond residents asking "Who is representing us?"
Related stories:
Chevron: Contra Costa Times July 25 letters
Dateline:
07/25/2008The council had the opportunity — indeed, the obligation — to ensure the project not proceed without important public health and environmental safeguards in place, to be negotiated in a public and transparent process.
However, the council majority (Maria Viramontes, Nat Bates, John Marquez, Ludmyrna Lopez, and Harpreet Sandhu) betrayed the communities they were elected to represent.
Ardent concerns expressed by Richmond families, neighborhood groups, environmentalists and even State Attorney General Jerry Brown fell on deaf ears.
Related stories:
Opinion: Beating a Dead Horse: The Bus Rapid Transit Draft EIR
Dateline:
07/24/2008Dean Metzger (July 17) and other opponents of a Bus Rapid Transit plan that would employ dedicated lanes, continue to quote the project’s obsolescent draft environmental report (DEIR) as if it’s holy writ, and as if everything preliminarily mentioned therein will inevitably come to pass. But this stance ignores the first word in the title: The 15-month-old DEIR is indeed merely a first draft that attempts to generally describe the project, but inevitably does so in a way that all interested parties know is incomplete at best and sometimes even misleading.
Related stories:
