The Contra Costa County health department says residents living near the refinery in Martinez should not eat produce grown in soil that was potentially exposed to a “spent catalyst with heavy metals” until further testing is finished.
“We are making this recommendation out of an abundance of caution,” county health officer Dr. Ori Tzvieli said Tuesday in a statement. “There is no immediate health threat to the community. That said, it’s also always better to be safe than sorry.”
The Martinez Refining Company “inadvertently showered” neighborhoods near the refinery with over 20 tons of the spent catalyst between about 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 24, 2022, and the early hours