skip to Main Content
Menu
Slide 03

USA – Cause Of Phillips 66 Refinery Fire Under Investigation

refinery-on-fire Stock PictureContra Costa County officials say it will likely be several days before they know what caused Sunday’s fire at the Phillips 66 refinery.

The Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Programs office had no information Monday about the cause of the fire, which started around 3 p.m. and prompted the county’s incident warning system to issue an alert just before 3:15 p.m. that hazardous materials personnel were responding. Officials on Sunday advised people with respiratory sensitivities to avoid the area or stay inside but added that most people should not be affected. No injuries were reported.

A county hazardous materials official said Monday that more information will be available once a 72-hour incident report is submitted.

Phillips 66 spokesman Paul Adler said Monday that the refinery’s Health, Safety and Environmental team is conducting an investigation of the incident, and that a report should be submitted to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District “in the next few weeks.”

The last major incident at the refinery occurred on June 15, 2012, when an overpressured sour water tank left splits in two tanks, sending hydrogen sulfide and other chemical vapors into the air and causing odors in surrounding communities, according to the county’s hazardous materials incident response website, at http://cchealth.org/hazmat/accident-history.php.

Back To Top