Smackdown: City Hall vs. Big Oil

"Smackdown" tells the story of Richmond California, a working
class town that grew up in the shadow of a massive Chevron
refinery. The refinery emits a toxic soup of chemicals and
residents suffer an asthma rate that is double the national
average.


Explosions and fires have periodically shaken the refinery since
1989. But Chevron is also the biggest employer in town and its
taxes supply tens of millions of dollars for city services. Can
Richmond maintain a healthy economy while transitioning away from
fossil fuels and lessening its reliance on Chevron? And what role
does electoral politics play in the mix?


In October, 2018, Chevron settled a suit brought by the U.S. EPA,
requiring it to pay nearly $3 million in damages, and spend about
$160 million dollars upgrading refineries around the United
States, including the facility in Richmond, Calif.


(Pictured: Community demonstrates against Chevron, April 20,
2012. Credit: Daniel Arauz, Flickr)


Listen to Smackdown, produced and reported by Claire Schoen.


Learn more about refinery towns in the U.S.


 For a technical but very accessible animation describing
the explosion and fire at Chevron's Richmond refinery in 2012,
see below. The video was produced by the U.S. Safety and Chemical
Hazard Investigation Board.


Click the icon below to listen.