Ill at Ease : Neighbors Raising a Stink Over Odors Near Chevron Drill Site

Driving to his Mission Hills home from his systems-engineering job at Northrop one night last week, Bob Ramsay pulled his car into his driveway, stepped out and immediately felt sick to his stomach.

“I just got out of the car and said, ‘Gosh, I don’t feel good,’ ” said Ramsay, 61. He said his eyes burned as in “a heavy smog attack” and his senses were assaulted by odors “that just about took your head off.”

He is not sure why he has been feeling ill recently, but he knows he is not alone.

A handful of residents in Ramsay’s neighborhood have reported headaches, nausea and burning eyes since a Sept. 2 explosion at the Chevron drill site on Paxton Street in Pacoima killed one man and injured two others.

Those affected live near the plant in the 14200 block of Paxton Street, as well as in the 14200 block of Minnehaha Street in Mission Hills, just north of the plant.

They say they detect odors variously described as smelling like natural gas, rotten eggs or a skunk.

Residents also fear that natural gas is leaking from the plant, an oil-and-gas-production facility, and could result in a major explosion.

“This is a powder keg--oil and gas mixed in a residential area,” said one resident, who has filed an insurance claim against Chevron and asked that his name be withheld because he fears reprisals.

Several organizations have been monitoring the neighborhood since the explosion, and the Los Angeles City Council voted last week to conduct an investigation. The council approved a motion by Councilman Ernani Bernardi to form a countywide task force to look into the odors and possible gas leaks, and to report its findings within two weeks.

Chevron, too, is still studying the accident. So far, the company has found no gas leaks and does not believe the fumes are connected to the explosion, said Rod Spackman, public affairs manager for Chevron.

“The nature of the odors is a point of speculation,” Spackman said. “If it’s related to us, we will take whatever steps are required. But we feel that the odors are not directly related to the operations of our facility.”

Spackman also said the accident “bears no relationship to odors in the community. It’s important for people to understand that.”

The 2.7-acre facility, completed in 1983, is the newest of eight urban production drill sites in the Los Angeles Basin and produces a total of about 450 barrels of oil and 7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, Spackman said. “It’s our newest facility and we’re proud of it,” he said. “It’s a well put-together project.”

Although residents’ fears of another explosion are understandable, Spackman said, the accident has been the only one of its kind to occur at a Chevron plant.

Los Angeles Fire Department officials said the tank explosion was caused by a static electric spark inside an oil tank and human error involving the use of a cleaning material in a tank that held a residue of flammable liquids and fumes. Chevron has stopped workers from using the cleaning procedure, Spackman said.

Area Patrolled

South Coast Air Quality Management District representatives had been patrolling the area twice daily since the explosion. But they plan to check the neighborhood twice weekly beginning this week. So far, they have smelled nothing unusual and have found no air pollution violations, said Gene Fisher, a district spokesman.

“It’s generally described as a fairly well-run operation as far as this type of plant goes,” Fisher said.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), whose district encompasses the Chevron plant, said he has received several complaints from residents and is concerned about a second incident at the plant Sept. 8 in which water used to clean oil tanks overflowed into the storm drain behind the facility.

The overflow was traced to a corroded valve, Spackman said, and it was replaced.

The assemblyman, however, remains worried.

“I was feeling better before we heard about that overflow, quite frankly,” Katz said. “All indications before that were that everything was operating correctly. That has caused me doubts. It doesn’t sound like they’re being cautious enough.”

Fire Department officials told 70 area residents at a meeting several days after the explosion that Chevron had been operating within regulations at the time.

Although fire officials said the explosion was not caused by a natural gas leak, they speculated that the odors detected by residents may have come from a small facility at the plant that treats naturally odorless gas to give it a noticeable smell. The facility is operated on the Chevron site by the Southern California Gas Co.

The AQMD’s Fisher characterized that odor as a nuisance, but not dangerous.

“If that were in the neighborhood, certainly that would be very noticeable to everyone,” Fisher said. “It takes a very small amount to be detected.”

Investigation Continues

Gas company officials acknowledged that there may have been a leak of the non-hazardous odorant, and that they are continuing to investigate.

“That’s a possibility, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet,” said Ken Worthen, senior district manager for the gas company’s San Fernando Valley Division. He said the gas company buys natural gas from Chevron and operates a small facility there where gas is odorized and measured before being distributed to Valley residents.

“A little of the (odorant) could have dropped on the ground,” Worthen said. “It’s a very significant odor and it’s meant to be that way. But, if there was a leak, you can be sure that it’s fixed by now.”

However, Worthen said, if residents’ complaints of a gas-like odor continue, “then everybody’s got more looking to do.”

While the investigations continue, Katz has suggested that Chevron provide tours of the plant to allay residents’ worries and reduce the mystery that surrounds the site’s activities. “People who live in the neighborhood have a right to know they’re safe,” Katz said.

Tours Planned

Several tours will be scheduled within the next few weeks, Spackman said, and Chevron is eager for the positive public relations they feel such tours would provide. He said he wants to debunk the notion that Chevron is a “big monolith that is rarely accessible.”

Residents say they welcome the opportunity.

Jerry Thompson, Ramsay’s next-door neighbor, said that if the smell that’s been giving his wife and son headaches is simply the nontoxic odorant, he wants to be certain that it is not dangerous.

“There are a lot of gases you can smell, but they don’t bother you,” Thompson said. “I would like to see if somebody who is unbiased could say if this is a flammable or non-flammable gas. A lot of people could probably sleep a lot better if they knew.”