City Officials Address Mercury Contamination, Hazmat Cleanup

MARTINEZ, CA — The Martinez Police Department is continuing its investigation into the illegal dumping of mercury at the Martinez Amtrak Station, city officials said in a statement Wednesday.

According to the city officials, city maintenance crews were doing normal collections of litter and recycling containers at city facilities Monday when unbeknownst to the maintenance crew, they serviced a trash container at the train station parking lot that was contaminated with mercury.

The maintenance crew proceeded to service other trash containers on their route, which led to a trail of mercury contamination on various city streets within the proximity of the Amtrak Station where the mercury originated. These streets include Marina Vista Avenue between the train station and Alhambra Avenue; Alhambra Avenue from Marina Vista to Buckley Street; Buckley Street from Alhambra Avenue to Berrellesa Street; Berrellesa from Buckley Street north to the City Corporation Yard and on Buckley Street near the entrance to Rankin Park.

The appropriate measures to ensure the health and safety of the maintenance crews were taken, city officials said.

Following tracing efforts led by the EPA and county health officials, numerous sites were identified as contaminated. The city hired an experienced firm for the clean-up efforts, which started at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Police security details will follow clean-up crews, and community members can also expect oversized vehicles and rolling street closures in the identified areas, the city said.

Clean-up of the interior of the train station will be overseen by Amtrak.

As the station remains closed, overnight security of the station and surrounding area is being coordinated by the Martinez Police Department with the help of the Community Emergency Response Team CERT and augmentation by outside private security.

The public is urged to avoid the area until further notice, the city said.

There is no risk to downtown Martinez businesses, and normal activities in the downtown area are not impacted by the cleanup, the city said.

County Connection bus service continues but with temporary detours around the impacted areas.

The city will notify the public once the clean-up effort has been completed.

"This incident has been highly complex involving multiple levels of government," Martinez Mayor Brianne Zorn said. "We appreciate the public’s patience as we address the situation. It is unfortunate that an illegal act, like this, had the potential to put our City workers and the community at risk, but I am confident that our coordinated team of local and federal agency first responders, all of whom arrived immediately upon notification will continue to do everything they can to help keep us safe ensure the contamination is cleaned up. Thank you to the City of Martinez staff, ConFire, County Health and EPA representatives for their collaboration on this effort."

RELATED COVERAGE:

• Hazmat Spill Closes Martinez Amtrak Station
• Health Advisory: Mercury At Martinez Amtrak Station More Widespread
• Hazmat Cleanup Underway In Martinez, Including Near Rankin Park