Contra Costa Health (CCH) continues to advise people in the Town of Crockett to take steps to protect their health due to elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide coming from the Crockett Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Air monitoring data from Monday and Tuesday from CCH’s Hazardous Materials Program (HazMat) show concentrations of the chemical that may cause symptoms such as headaches, nausea and irritated eyes in people exposed to it for long periods.
CCH and its partners have not detected levels of hydrogen sulfide in Crockett’s air that would be considered immediately dangerous to public health.
The threshold at which hydrogen sulfide in the air may cause symptoms is .03 parts per million (ppm). The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) measured a 1-hour average reading of .036 ppm near the plant on Friday, Oct. 7, prompting the health advisory from CCH.
On Tuesday, Oct. 11, a Hazardous Materials team collected a one-hour average reading of .045 ppm near Port and Ceres streets, directly east of Interstate 80 from the plant.
Commercially available carbon air filters, also known as activated charcoal air filters, are effective at reducing levels of hydrogen sulfide indoors. Masking is not effective protection.
CCH recommends anyone experiencing minor symptoms to stay indoors with windows and doors closed. People experiencing serious or persistent symptoms should contact their health provider.
Levels in the air may vary based on location, weather and proximity to the plant. Smelling hydrogen sulfide (a rotten-egg or sewage odor) is not an indicator that concentrations in the air are high enough to pose a health risk.
The Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services and HazMat provided 40 indoor air filters to the John Swett Unified School District for use at John Swett High and Carquinez Middle schools.
On Tuesday, HazMat measured a 1-hour average reading of .0031 ppm outdoors at John Swett High, and .0015 ppm outdoors at Carquinez Middle.
CCH will release updated air quality data as it becomes available.
The elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide in Crockett’s air are the result of a weeks-long operational issue at the plant, 1801 Dowrelio Road, which processes sewage from the community and wastewater from the C&H Sugar refinery. C&H owns the property and through a contractor operates the facility.
6 comments
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If it were a petroleum refiner emitting hydrogen sulfide, you know darn well the hopsitals would be inundated with hypochondriacs and ambulance chasers with predrafted litigation in their pockets.
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Instead, it’s a public facility and the BAAQMD will look the other way if threshold exposure levels are exceeded.
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Nah, I’m not cynical.
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@Exit 12A….Sounds like a bunch of shi…..,ah, crap to me. What do people expect when you live upwind of a sewage plant or downwind of a refinery? They were both there long before anyone commenting on a blog was born. The same goes for the noisy train horns or buying a house next to an airport. It always cracks me up.
If your lucky you will smell it first. if your unlucky you can’t and you will be dead.
But how will this effect the sugar????!!!?
The eradicator broke over a month ago. Meaning sewage has been building up in the pipes. Which means the gas is being released all over the town. Not just next to the plant. People expected a little bit more urgent response. They brought in a small eradicator not nearly the size to alleviate the situation.
is that the horrible stink almost every night around 9 to 10 ?
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