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in 1976. By the 1990s, a history of poor maintenance and under-staffing gave the refinery a reputation for being a hazardous workplace. Throughout the 1990s, it led the US refining industry in the number of environmental and safety code violations. These poor conditions culminated in two catastrophic
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went into idle mode in early 2020 and stopped all production. After nearly half a year, the company decided to shut down production and laid off over 720 employees with the majority of them leaving work on
October 28, 2020. Some employees remained as the refinery became a tank and storage facility.
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On
December 15, 2015, thick smoke and flames could be seen rising up from the refinery. Due to the loss of a primary steam generation unit, flaring was done to release pressure. A level-2 alert was issued to the community, recommending that they stay indoors due to smoke blowing offsite. The alert
168:. The refinery is located on 850 acres, in 2016 had approximately 650 full-time employees, and had a crude oil capacity of 157,000 barrels per day. In 2015 it was the fourth-largest refinery in the state. The refinery had a Nelson complexity index of 16.1.
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Established in 1878–1879, Avon was railroad station named for
Shakespeare's Avon. It was originally called Marsh, and in 1913 the name was changed to Associated. The name Marsh was in honor of
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In early 2021, the refinery was given to green light to start converting its units so it could produce renewable diesel made from animal tallow, corn oil, and soybean oil. They partnered with
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In
February 2015, a nationwide strike by USW represented employees resulted in the closure of the Martinez refinery, the only refinery closure resulting from the strike.
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explosion. A maintenance supervisor refused to shut down the unit after corroding valves failed to stop the flow of the extremely hazardous substance.
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The refinery was first built in 1913 under the name Avon
Refinery, and has been continually expanded since. It was purchased by
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and began producing renewable diesel in late 2022 and moving up to full capacity in 2023 making it the largest
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explosion killed one worker. In the second of these, four workers died and a fifth was hospitalized in a 1999
211:, along with 70 Ultramar and Beacon gas stations in Northern California, for the total of $ 1.075 billion.
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320:"Shock Waves From Tosco Refinery's Fatal Blast Fateful day began with a final 'I love you' to wife"
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473:"Marathon Petroleum to Proceed with Conversion of Martinez Refinery to Renewable Fuels Facility"
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co-generation plant failure, that produced large quantities of thick black smoke.
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California Place Names: The Origin and
Etymology of Current Geographical Names
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448:"Health advisory lifted after smoke drifted from Martinez refinery"
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Buildings and structures in Contra Costa County, California
399:"U.S. refinery strike enters 18th day as talks restart"
426:"End of the road for California's bargain gas prices"
350:"Tesoro completes acquisition of Martinez refinery"
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479:(Press release). Marathon Petroleum. March 2, 2021
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128:in an unincorporated area known as Avon, East of
377:"Tesoro refinery incident under investigation"
304:. California Energy Commission. Archived from
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203:In May 2002, the refinery was purchased by
122:Marathon Martinez Renewable Fuels Facility
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132:. It refines biobased feedstocks such as
233:was reduced to Level 0 on the same day.
561:Energy infrastructure completed in 1913
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423:Baker, David R. (February 16, 2015).
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214:In November 2010, the refinery had a
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551:Energy in the San Francisco Bay Area
114:157,000 bbl/d (25,000 m/d)
16:Petroleum refinery in California, US
541:Energy infrastructure in California
521:Oil refineries in the United States
180:. The name Associated was for the
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556:1913 establishments in California
397:Seba, Erwin (February 18, 2015).
302:"California Oil Refinery History"
192:accidents. In the first, a 1997
182:Tidewater Associated Oil Company
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218:event, due to a simultaneous
526:Oil refineries in California
277:Gudde, Erwin Gustav (1960).
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80:38.033363°N 122.071907°W
546:Petroleum in California
324:San Francisco Chronicle
253:refinery in the world.
148:. Previously owned by
126:San Francisco Bay Area
85:38.033363; -122.071907
184:, owner of the site.
22:Golden Eagle Refinery
531:Martinez, California
330:on February 23, 2012
130:Martinez, California
308:on October 5, 2011.
150:Tidewater Petroleum
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477:Marathon Petroleum
222:utility power and
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238:COVID-19 Pandemic
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236:Due to the
138:soybean oil
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71:122°04′19″W
58:Coordinates
515:Categories
483:October 5,
257:References
178:John Marsh
134:animal fat
68:38°02′00″N
41:California
457:August 9,
432:August 9,
408:August 9,
286:August 9,
334:July 24,
242:refinery
220:PG&E
142:corn oil
111:Capacity
101:Operator
403:Reuters
382:June 1,
216:flaring
198:naphtha
172:History
27:Country
452:KGO-TV
240:, the
162:Tesoro
247:Neste
207:from
189:Tosco
154:Tosco
144:into
37:State
485:2023
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