Photos

Click on the thumbnails below to see full size photos of the facility.

aerial view	gas compression equip.	gas compression equip.
heater treater stacks	emergency generator	meteorology tower

Toxic Emissions

Venoco’s Ellwood facility is an oil and gas processing plant. During the processing of  oil and gas, this facility emits diesel exhaust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene, toluene, xylene, hydrogen sulfide and formaldehyde, as well as other compounds.

Health Risk Assessment Results

*Venoco Ellwood’s risk is not considered significant because it occurs within the facility’s easement, the public does not have access to that area and there are no residents within the isopleth.

Pollutants

Risk "Driver" Pollutants

The diesel exhaust was the primary contributor to this facility’s significant risk status. Diesel exhaust is emitted from three diesel internal combustion engines.  One engine is used to drive an air compressor.  One engine drives an emergency firewater pump.  One engine drives an emergency backup electrical generator.

The links provided, if available, to the USEPA Unified Air Toxics Web Site Health Effects Notebook for Hazardous Air Pollutants.

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Cancer:

diesel engine exhaust

Other Pollutants Emitted by this Facility

The following pollutants are also emitted during operations at this facility, but were not the primary contributors to the facility’s significant risk status.

acetaldehyde      - EPA hazard summary acrolein    - EPA hazard summary aluminum   arsenic     - EPA hazard summary antimony     - EPA hazard summary barium benzene     - EPA hazard summary beryllium     - EPA hazard summary cadmium       - EPA hazard summary chlorobenzene        - EPA hazard summary cobalt        - EPA hazard summary copper  p-dichlorobenzene     - EPA hazard summary ethylbenzene ethylene dibromide     - EPA hazard summary ethylene dichloride     - EPA hazard summary formaldehyde     - EPA hazard summary hexavalent chromium     - EPA hazard summary hexane     - EPA hazard summary

hydrochloric acid     - EPA hazard summary hydrogen sulfide isopropyl alcohol  lead    - EPA hazard summary manganese     - EPA hazard summary methanol     - EPA hazard summary mercury     - EPA hazard summary naphthalene     - EPA hazard summary phosphorus     - EPA hazard summary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)     - EPA hazard summary propylene   selenium     - EPA hazard summary silver   thallium toluene      - EPA hazard summary 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene vanadium xylene      - EPA hazard summary zinc

Explanation of Risk

Public Notification

The primary goal of notification under the Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Program is to inform potentially exposed individuals of significant health risks associated with toxic air emissions routinely released from facilities in Santa Barbara County. The public notification letter for this facility was sent to the affected public on June 7, 1999, and a public meeting was held in October 1999 to discuss the facility's risk. 

Because this facility’s health risk assessment indicated a significant risk, the facility operator was required to conduct an airborne toxic risk reduction audit and develop a plan to implement airborne toxic risk reduction measures.

Venoco submitted a Risk Reduction Audit and Plan (RRAP) on May 5, 2005 with revisions on June 21, 2005. The RRAP was conditionally approved by the APCD in July 2005.  The risk reduction measures include the use of a diesel fuel additive to reduce the particulate matter in the diesel exhaust and posting signs outside of the cancer footprint.

The health risk assessment performed for inventory year 2002 showed that the cancer risk footprint shrunk considerably.  The cancer risk extends off Venoco's property boundary by approximately 45 meters. However, the cancer risk does not extend past Venoco’s vegetation easement and is based on a 70 year residential exposure. The public can not easily enter the area of the cancer risk footprint due to the very rugged terrain and dense vegetation. To further ensure that the public is not exposed to unnecessary risk, Venoco has agreed to post signs around the area of risk.  These warning signs will advise anyone from the public that they are near the area of the footprint.

Additional Notes of Interest

The odor abatement system was removed from this facility in 1995 and the process was modified to use a state-of-the-art thermal oxidizer unit thus reducing the amount of benzene, toluene, and xylene emitted.

Links for Additional Information on Air Toxics

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