Update: Major San Pablo hazmat cleanup drags on; Evacuation area reduced

Hazmat cleanup crews on Thursday continued to move methodically through a shed at a home in San Pablo that was filled with hundred of boxes of chemicals, attempting to render them safe.

The operation to secure the chemicals began Wednesday afternoon and prompted the evacuation of a six-block area bordered by Giant Road, Miner Ave, 11th Street, and Palmer Ave in San Pablo.

At a press conference that started shortly after noon Thursday, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia -- who represents the area and is also the chair of both the Board of Supervisors and the Contra Costa Fire Protection District -- said that the FBI bomb squad had joined the effort. He also announced that the evacuation zone would be reduced in size later Thursday afternoon.

Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Capt. Chris Toler confirmed that the evacuation zone would be reduced "pretty soon" and said residents on John and Stanton would be able to get important items out of their homes with a police escort. He estimated that crews were about halfway done as far as removing the chemicals to a proper disposal site.

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District PIO tweeted shortly after 1 p.m. that residents living on Miner Avenue, Palmer Avenue and 11th Street were cleared to return home. Those living on Stanton Avenue and John Avenue were being allowed into their homes with a police escort for an hour before returning to the evacuation center to await further instruction. 

Fire officials confirmed during a later update that about 75% of the stored chemicals had been removed as of 5 p.m. Authorities were hopeful that all residents would be able to return home within a few hours, but the evacuation orders had not yet been lifted.

Contra Costa Fire tweeted that over 600 different chemicals had been identified and more than 800 bottles of hazardous materials have been removed from the site. Authorities thanked "the citizens of San Pablo for their patience" as well as the other agencies involved in the operation.  

Authorities also said that there were no criminal charges being filed in connection with the incident, but the situation was still being investigated.

During a press conference earlier Thursday morning, Toler said that even after working overnight to secure the chemicals, the hazmat crews still don't know how many chemicals they are dealing with. 

"We're talking a lot of different chemicals, a lot of different classes of chemicals. We don't know everything that we have in the storage or that he had in the storage shed," said Toler. "The bomb squad and our hazardous, ConFire hazmat, is busy processing all of that. They're trying to identify, contain stabilizing transport and properly dispose of those materials."

The resident at the house where the incident is happening, who passed away a few months ago, was a retired chemistry professor who had stored chemical supplies in a shed for a long time and the chemicals had likely become unstable, fire officials said. 

The deceased resident's brother was in the process of cleaning up the property and discovered the chemicals in a shed, and realized they were hazardous materials. 

"[The brother] was advised to go ahead and call the fire department or call 911," said Toler. "That initiated the hazardous materials incident or dispatch, and it quickly went from a small incident to a major hazmat incident you see behind us right now."

Toler said the chemicals and containers were placed throughout the storage shed, which completely filled the shed estimated to be about 12 feet by 14 feet. 

"They are in improper containers, so they aren't stable. They should not be in the type of containers that they're in, or the containers have become so degradated over time that they are unstable," said Toler. "Due to the response you see behind us, I would say they were not legal in the neighborhood."

Toler added there was no indication that the chemicals were part of a meth lab or drug lab. He said that he did not know exactly what the chemicals were or what the volume was.

The evacuated residents were sheltering in a gym at Contra Costa Community College. Residents were told to expect to shelter at the evacuation center for up to 24 hours, fire officials said. Toler said it was hoped the residents could return by Thursday, but he could not guarantee the cleanup process would be complete by the end of the day.

Red Cross was assisting evacuees at the gym, officials said.

In:
• San Pablo