Protecting Against the Protectors
The upsetting truth about air pollution in the Bay Area

San Francisco Chronicle
Denny Larson, Linda Weiner
September 7, 2004

It's hard not to be upset when you live near a refinery and see clouds of pollution coming out of the stacks, bearing down on your neighborhood.

California ranks second, behind Texas, in the number of refineries. The Bay Area alone is home to no fewer than five major refineries. A recent national study by the Environmental Integrity Project (www.environmentalintegrity.org) discloses that accident reports at refineries and industrial sites in 29 states reveal the same accident happening often at specific units without being systematically and fully repaired.

These recurring incidents -- named "upset" pollution or extra pollution caused when something supposedly "accidental" goes wrong at a refinery -- should result in enforcement, correction, and public reporting.

Therein lies a problem in the Bay Area. While the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is one of the leaders in dealing with some aspects of air pollution, such as increased monitoring of flares in industrial sites, it falls behind places such as Texas when it comes to providing the public with information about what industry is spewing into the air we breathe. This information is critical because some of the pollutants released into the air in these upsets are known health hazards. If the Bay Area wants to continue to be a leader in clear air policy, we need to give people easy access to information about what they are breathing.

This "upset" pollution problem is not unique to the Bay Area. Industrial plants, including refineries, are emitting tons of toxic pollution as a result of these so-called accidents, according to the report released last month by the Environmental Integrity Project. For example, in two states, the report scrutinized 37 facilities and found that those facilities released more than 63.4 million pounds of extra pollution over one year due to accidents, or "upsets." The pollution included significant amounts of benzene and butadiene, two known carcinogens.

Bay Area residents who live in the communities in or near refineries -- where there are documented high rates of lung disease -- have complained for years about the refinery explosions, fires and other "accidents" that have showered their homes and neighborhoods with excess pollution. As the EIP report points out, getting timely information from Air Quality Management District about the pollution released during many of these accidents is difficult at best. Unlike Texas, which makes this information available on its state Web site, a number of the district's files on these pollution episodes were missing, incomplete, corrupted or withheld by the legal department. People, especially those living adjacent to the refineries, have a right to know what these facilities are emitting so they can make decisions to protect their health.

The good news is that the district has acknowledged that the lack of publicly available information about refinery pollution is a problem. We believe it's time for the district to modernize its reporting system and make data regarding excess air pollution from refineries and other industrial facilities available to the public in a timely, complete and accurate way through its Web site, www.baaqmd.gov. While this won't immediately solve the problems with industrial pollution, at least it would be a first step to providing the public with timely information about what's in the air.

When it comes to air pollution, what you don't know can hurt you. Bay Area residents have a right to be upset about the current lack of information about "upset" pollution and to expect a timely release of all the data from the agency charged with providing it.

Denny Larson is coordinator of the National Refinery Reform Campaign (www.refineryreform.org). Linda Weiner is director of air quality advocacy for the American Lung Association of San Francisco and San Mateo Counties (www.californialung.org).

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