The Martinez refinery has had two accidental releases in the past 12 months. I have some family in the area and they were advised to shelter indoors with all their windows shut for one of them.
> Martinez homes aren't cheap either, even for the Bay Area - median sale price is almost $800K
I am frequently surprised at how little of a discount there is for living in toxic or extremely unpleasant places in an otherwise expensive area. Over the years I’ve seen many listings for homes nearby to desirable areas but adjacent to superfund sites, directly facing interstate highways or elevated subway tracks, downwind of sewage treatment plants etc, and consistently I feel like the price is nowhere remotely close to cheap enough to justify the downside.
Officials release map of hazardous fallout from refinery mishap: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-04-11/officia...
City of Martinez page and other incidents: https://www.cityofmartinez.org/government/information-on-eve...
Martinez homes aren't cheap either, even for the Bay Area - median sale price is almost $800K.