The post-mortem of Chevron’s Richmond refinery fire has begun and includes:
- Deepening questions over whether the oil company may have placed profits above caution by trying to make repairs while keeping its #4 Crude unit operating instead of shutting it down when the vapor leak that caused the fire was detected.
- Contra Costa health services’ expensive and repeatedly-troubled computerized public warning system flopped badly, with some residents of the affected area getting notifications almost two hours after the fire began.
- Nearly 1,700 people complaining of symptoms from the toxic contaminants released by the blaze have visited area hospitals, and more than 1,000 so far have filed claims against Chevron.
Image: Richmond Confidential
