Air Quality

The air quality in Richmond is middle of the road. Areas near the always-active refinery have high numbers of children with asthma, due to the emissions released into the atmosphere. Some of these emissions include Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrocarbon emissions. The Chevron refinery vows to have "reduced hydrocarbon emissions by 95 percent from our ship loading operations" (1) However, Chevron only addresses the hydrocarbons that are released into the atmosphere, and fail to mention the rest of the greenhouse gases that are commonly emitted from refineries. The air in the rest of the the city though, is good. The only pollutants that show up in the atmosphere are those common to the rest of the bay area, PM2.5 (Particulate Matter), and Ozone. The fossil fuels that are emitted by the refinery positively effect the cycles of the elements. The refinery is also right on the water to the emissions are going into the air, and most likely directly into the pacific ocean, which is not good for Richmond, or any other cities that surround the bay the pollution is being dumped into

(2)

1: http://www.chevron.com/products/sitelets/richmond/safety/protecting_air.aspx

2: http://www.wunderground.com/US/CA/Richmond.html