BY JIM GOTESKY
SAN FRANCISCO - Two chemical releases and a fire disrupted production at Tosco, Inc. in Los Angeles and Rodeo, California, in the first two weeks of April. Both refineries were purchased from Unocal April 1 as part of Tosco's takeover of Unocal's four California oil refining plants.

Flames erupted from a leaking pump seal April 4 at the Wilmington refinery near Los Angeles Harbor. The fire burned for more than two hours, shutting down the hydrocracking unit. The leak began more than three weeks earlier. Repairs were postponed by plant managers to build up gasoline inventories. Damage to the hydrocracker will idle the plant for several weeks.

Meanwhile, toxic smoke billowed from the Rodeo plant north of San Francisco twice on April 16. Early in the day shift, black smoke laden with hydrocarbon products spewed from the MP-30 unit for more than 10 minutes. Maintenance workers were evacuated from the unit.

Later that evening, beginning at 8:30 p.m., fire and smoke poured from two furnace stacks at the sulfur plant. For nearly four hours highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas and sulfur dioxide drifted through the neighborhoods of Crockett, Hercules, and Richmond. Contra Costa County health officials asserted that the release did not pose a health risk, although exposure to the chemicals released could exacerbate existing respiratory problems. Many residents complained of headaches, runny noses and stomach aches.

All three incidents came on the heels of an April 1 concession labor agreement imposed on refinery operators and maintenance workers employed at the former Unocal facilities. The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers (OCAW) members narrowly ratified a five-year statewide contract under a company threat to close the Rodeo plant and contract out maintenance work at the other three plants. The new agreement allowed Tosco to reduce plant staffing in all four plants by 15 percent and eliminate the fire and safety departments.

Plant workers are concerned about the impact on safety of the job cuts. Many wonder whether the refinery can be run safely with fewer operators. Operations and maintenance workers at the Rodeo facility have been working 12 hour days for the last two months covering lost jobs and staffing round the clock shutdown maintenance.

A refinery maintenance worker who lives near the Rodeo facility, and asked that his name not be used, said, "This is just the tip of the iceberg. We don't get a say for 5 years. Tosco says they will listen to us in 1998 on local issues, but what leverage do we have with a no strike clause? This is serious. If they can get away a 15 percent cut in the workforce, then they will take 10 percent more until something happens!"

Community residents are upset as well. Initial media reports indicated that 6,000 residents were urged to take shelter during the hydrogen-sulfide and sulfur-dioxide release. However, later reports revealed that it took Tosco more than 20 minutes to decide to notify Contra Costa County health officials about the release. The emergency alert network had only reached 1,336 residents by 9:57 p.m., 90 minutes after the incident began.

Kasha Kessler, a Crockett resident, explained, "That siren was a wake-up call for community residents. We all smell odors coming from the refinery, but no one ever calls to say what we've been exposed to. So, most of us just go about our business. The siren connected these experiences with the real threat they pose."

She added, "I'm not pleased with the 45 minutes it took to notify me about the release... With Tosco, we've gone from the frying pan into the fire. To stop this you have to have criminal indictments!" According to Kessler, community residents plan to meet and discuss further action against Tosco.

Pressure on public officials to demand corrective action from Tosco is growing. Contra Costa Board of Supervisors member Jim Rogers told the San Francisco Chronicle that he plans to ask the Board to subpoena Tosco employees to testify in public sessions about the January fire that killed one worker at Tosco's plant in Martínez, California, as well as the recent leak.

Jim Gotesky is a member of OCAW Local 1-326 at Unocal in Rodeo, California.  
 
 
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