At Tuesday’s meeting, the Benicia City Council did not approve Mayor Elizabeth Patterson’s request to adopt an Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO), at least not yet. Instead, the council voted 3-2 to direct staff to monitor Solano County’s implementation of Program 4 for the county’s Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) and meet with the Valero Benicia […]
Letter: Stand for Benicia
Stand for Benicia On Tuesday, the Benicia City Council will hear from a Citizen Group requesting that a draft Industrial Safety Ordinance be referred to city staff for review. This is a signature moment for Benicia, as it will signal whether the City Council puts the health and safety of Benicia, its citizens and community […]
ISO Working Group: The rest of the story on air monitoring in Benicia (Part 2)
The rest of the story on air monitoring in Benicia In Part 1 of this series, we explored the many health risks and costs of air pollution in Benicia, including premature deaths, hospitalizations and respiratory symptoms including asthma in adults and children. Today we will take a look at air monitoring – and the lack […]
Second step of Industrial Safety Ordinance process on council agenda
More than a year after the Benicia City Council approved the first step in a two-step process to consider bringing an Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO) to Benicia, the council will resume its discussion Tuesday when the matter is brought back for the second step of the process. Following the flaring incident at the Valero Benicia […]
Letter: Making sense of air monitoring (Part 1)
Making sense of air monitoring (Part 1) Most of the time, you cannot see dirty air – for example you can’t see particulates. We know that particulates increase the age-specific mortality risk, particularly from cardiovascular causes. In fact, epidemiological studies suggest public health officials are underestimating the effect of acute pollution exposure on mortality and […]
Pat Toth-Smith: More than a year after the Valero flaring incident, are we safer?
A year after the May 5, 2017 Valero emergency shutdown and major flaring incident, and the subsequent release of more than 74,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide into the air, are we any safer in Benicia? Has the emergency backup electrical generation changed for the refinery since this incident? Should we stop worrying about future emergency […]
Letter: Making our city safer
Making our city safer Valero needs to be a better neighbor. This would include opening the lines of communication with the surrounding community and the officials of the City of Benicia. As Andres Soto wrote in a recent letter to the editor, it’s been over a year since Valero’s massive month long flaring debacle of […]
Letter: Stronger emergency response system needed in Industrial Park
Stronger emergency response system needed in Industrial Park In her May 6 letter, Kathy Kerridge brought up an important point about adopting a Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO). There have been several letters and information about what would be covered in an ISO. Although I have not seen a final draft of the ISO, as it […]
Letters: ISO, BUSD expenditures and Steve Gizzi
One year later, still time for an ISO Thank you to the Benicia City Council for developing the priority based budgeting system this year. The results of the process made clear that many Benicians want the city to prioritize the adoption of an Industrial Safety Ordinance and the protections Benicians deserve. Valero’s massive month long […]
Letter: What would we do in chemical release?
What would we do in chemical release? On April 26 in Superior, Wis. there was an explosion at the Husky oil refinery. According to the Chicago Tribune, a tank of crude oil or asphalt exploded prompting authorities to order the evacuation of a 3-mile (5-kilometer) radius around the refinery, as well as a 10-mile (16-kilometer) […]