What Blows Up in Goleta Doesn’t Stay in Goleta
by Andy Caldwell
Nipomo and Goleta have battery energy storage systems like the one that recently blew up at Moss Landing in Monterey County, and more are planned for Santa Maria and Lompoc and Nipomo (again).
We need to pressure our politicians to let them know that they need to act now to ensure public safety is paramount, as these sites present the potential for toxic fires and/or explosions, and that these projects don’t just affect the immediate neighborhood where the facility is located. State Assemblywoman Dawn Addis, whose district covers Monterey and our North County, has introduced a bill (AB 303) to do just that, albeit her bill may not go as far as the toxic smoke plumes.
In Monterey County, the evacuation zone from the Moss Landing disaster was eight miles away, the shelter-in-place zone up to 20 miles away, and schools were closed up to as many as 70 miles away! An incident at any one of these facilities has the potential to impact much of the Central Coast.
At a minimum, the entire region should have received the following warnings and instructions that were buried online as it pertains to a mandatory evacuation or sheltering in place from battery storage emergencies:
“If you are not subject to immediate evacuation orders but are told to shelter in place, bring your pets inside, close and lock all exterior doors and windows, close vents, and fireplace dampers, turn off heaters and air conditioners, seal gaps under and around the following areas with wet towels, plastic sheeting, duct tape, wax paper, or aluminum foil: doorways and windows, air-conditioning units, stove, and dryer vents. Avoid eating or drinking any food or water that could be contaminated. (As I have said before, it isn’t easy being green.)
Toxic-Gas Blast Zones
Wow! And they call this green energy? Why hasn’t every single household in the region received a set of these instructions? Moreover, one additional instance of gross negligence on the part of SLO County, which approved the Nipomo facility, has to do with the fact that there was no mention, no planning, and no evaluation or concern issued regarding the fact that dozens of farm hands work the fields in the immediate vicinity of this facility.
Unfortunately, both our local and state governments are completely glossing over the fact that these facilities could create, in terms of environmental regulations, a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment. Monterey County now has a toxic waste site on its hands, while in San Diego, two of their three battery facilities had fires too, one lasting two weeks involving five million gallons of water.
The County of San Luis Obispo has completely failed the citizens living in the area between Orcutt and Five Cities, including Guadalupe, as all these communities are well within what I am going to refer as the toxic-gas blast zone. Depending upon wind conditions and inversion layers, for a new battery energy storage facility located in Nipomo, it could be a mere 1,000 feet from the 101 freeway.
Regulation and Control Lacking
The facility in Goleta and the regions beyond are in an even denser community area just beneath the Storke Road/101 overpass, meaning thousands of homes could be immediately affected in the event of a fire. That also means both first responders and evacuees will be faced with absolute gridlock and chaos in each of these communities as the 101 would have to be closed in both directions in the event of an emergency.
The Goleta facility has a Tesla “Megapack” system. At Moss Landing there are two different battery systems onsite there. The one that just blew up was not a Tesla system but a second system that caught fire a few years ago did employ the Megapack system. While the Megapack fire in 2022 at Moss Landing burned for about 10 hours, another in Australia involving a Megapack system in 2021 required a response of 150 emergency personnel.
Finally, we have serious concerns that the first responders have not been properly trained and equipped for a fire at any of these facilities. The standard practice is to let lithium battery fires burn themselves out because putting water on them can make the fire worse, while they do use water to keep other batteries from heating up.
A county supervisor in Monterey County said it best: this technology is beyond our ability to regulate and beyond the ability of the industry to control.
You have been warned.
Please warn others.
Andy Caldwell, Executive Director, COLAB
Regarding this piece about the potential health risks of fires involving stored lithium ion batteries..... my son is an example of that "potential". He is now a prematurely, medically retired, EX-Fire Captain of a large Southern California Fire Department. My son, barely half way into his firefighting career, was involved in fighting a fire in a warehouse that was storing EV batteries. He was on the crew that made entry to the interior of the structure to fight the fire and he was wearing all of the appropriate firefighting PPE. In the emergency response world this would be classified as an "Exposure".
A very short while after the incident he began to experience lower back pain that was originally "diagnosed" at an emergency room as, maybe a kidney stone. In a very short while the pain became unbearable and his wife took him to a different E.R. where he was discovered to be in Acute Renal Failure! His Kidneys were shutting down! He was immediately admitted to the hospital with an unknown cause and unknown prognosis. It's a much longer, (and more complicated), story than I can get into here, but his Fire Department seemed to not want any part of "owning" his condition even after advanced testing revealed lithium in his system.
Long story short...... He was in full firefighting protective gear and still suffered the exposure and consequences..... the public doesn't have the luxury of that "protection".
To my knowledge, there has never been a Fire Department Green Sheet on this incident or the potential risks of lithium ion exposure or poisoning. The Green Sheet is an informational summary report utilized for reviewing a serious injury, near miss and/or fatality. It is a safety/training tool used to aid in preventing future occurrences, informing interested parties and identifying lessons learned.
I read this "WARNING" article titled "What Blows Up in Goleta Doesn’t Stay in Goleta"
by Andy Caldwell" who issued a WARNING to SB folks and I quote as follows>
"We need to pressure our politicians to let them know that they need to act now to ensure public safety is paramount ..." and "Unfortunately, both our local and state governments are completely glossing over the fact that these facilities could create, in terms of environmental regulations, a significant hazard to the public .." and "Finally, we have serious concerns that the first responders have not been properly trained and equipped for a fire at any of these facilities." and the last
Mr. Caldwell states "You have been warned."
Anyone reading my posts in SB Current, over the last year, can understand that I have been
WARNING that the THREAT and HAZARD is the Entire Local SB Government.
There has been Whistle-Blowers in Santa Barbara that have provided actionable information
on these THREATS and HAZARDS in Santa Barbara however some of the Whistle-Blowers
have been retaliated against by the SB local Government Individuals & CALI.
Whistle-Blowers are supposedly Protected under 15 U.S. Code § 2087 - Whistleblower protection
regardless that protection seldom occurs. There are many Whistle-Blowers, some who expose
HUGE Malfeasance of Entire Countries as shown below for COVID-19>
https://x.com/JimFergusonUK/status/1888518311089946703
If you BLOW-THE-WHISTLE fully understand the ramifications and possible retaliation against you and your family. Any doubt just look at what happened to President Trump and his family.
Howard Walther, Member of a Military Family