State of Emergency Declared for Lithium Battery Fire Near “Salad Bowl of America” in CA

A state of emergency has been declared in Northern California following a fire at the world’s largest lithium battery storage plant. Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church called this a “Three Mile Island event” for the battery storage industry. According to reporting by Jordan Chariton and Status Coup, residents as far as 50-100 miles away are experiencing symptoms including headaches, nausea, nosebleeds, lung burning, rashes, and metallic taste.

The fire occurred at Vistra Energy’s Moss Landing Power Plant near Salinas Valley, known as the “Salad Bowl of America” and sometimes called the “Salad Bowl of the World.”

The valley produces most of the nation’s lettuce and many other fruits and vegetables. These are some estimates regarding the regional output for the U.S.

-70% of the lettuce in the U.S.

-57% of the celery

-48% of the broccoli

-38% of the spinach

-28% of the strawberries, including Driscoll’s

Chariton reported that a health official said there has been no soil testing because “we don’t necessarily know what we are looking for.” The HighWire reported that independent evaluator Scott Smith tested garlic in East Palestine, OH, and showed 500 times the level of dioxins compared to garlic harvested before the controlled burn. Health agencies said it was generally considered safe to eat produce from the area, while residents from the town have avoided consuming locally-grown produce.

The battery plant is about 18 miles from Monterrey, 24 miles from Santa Cruz, and 95 miles from San Francisco. The fire began on January 16, and all evacuation orders were lifted the next day. Residents have been advised to stay indoors, keep their windows closed, and turn off ventilation systems.

The EPA has been monitoring air quality for particulate matter and hydrogen fluoride, the “pollutants of concern.” The EPA stated on January 20, “Results for hydrogen fluoride and particulate matter showed no risk to public health throughout the incident, and smoke from the facility has greatly diminished.”

With information from the EPA, Monterey County has the Emergency Operations Center level set at level 3. This level is described as “normal operations.” The description states, “Activities that are normal for the EOC when no incident or specific risk or hazard has been identified. Routine watch and warning activities if the EOC normally houses this function.”

The county emergency page states, “Air monitoring results indicate that no levels of Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) exceeded OEHHA’s acute Reference Exposure Level (REL) of 300 parts per billion (ppb) in the community, at Vistra’s fence line, or at the site of the fire. The acute REL is the highest concentration of a chemical that a person can safely be exposed to for one hour without an increased risk of serious, non-cancer health impacts, including for children and sensitive individuals. No PM 2.5 levels exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 35 micrograms per cubic meter.”

The REL only sets a guideline for maximum exposure over one hour. Chariton and Status Coup interviewed residents experiencing symptoms without leaving their homes. Toxic compounds can go through cracks around windows and doors to enter houses. They can come in through the ventilation system. Residents are advised to shut off ventilation systems, but it is the middle of winter, with temperatures dipping to 40 degrees at night in Monterrey.

While the air monitoring tests show a safe REL, it doesn’t consider that local residents are likely to have days of exposure to elevated levels of toxic compounds released by this lithium battery fire. Governor Gavin Newsom has been active with the Los Angeles fires and has not commented on the lithium battery fire in Northern California.

Chariton reported that several sources have observed environmental officials conducting air quality tests by rolling down their windows and holding a “handheld device for less than a minute.” Chariton also points out the documented conflict of interest associated with the Vistra-hired contractors conducting some air quality tests.

The contractor is CTEH, which the NY Times reported about in 2010 during the BP oil spill clean-up efforts. A former Exxon chemical engineer described CTEH conducting environmental tests as “the fox guarding the chicken coop.”

The HighWire has reported several environmental disasters that have exposed residents in the United States to toxic chemicals. An interview with independent evaluator Scott Smith revealed that the EPA was not transparent about its data collection in East Palestine. Smith said the EPA is acting as a public relations arm for Norfolk Southern.

Researchers burned lithium batteries in Piqua, OH from 2018-2023, and caused several side effects for the residents in the community, including respiratory problems, headaches, and nausea. The HighWire reported in November that toxic chemical accidents occur every 1.2 days in the U.S.

Another toxic chemical fire occurred in Conyers, GA, in September when a pool supply manufacturing plant called BioLab went up in flames. East Palestine, Conyers, and Monterrey have a similar conflict of interest when the company responsible for the toxic chemical exposure hires contractors to conduct air quality and environmental testing.