‘No time for inaction’: how a California refinery disaster created a generation of activists

Ten years ago, a fire at Chevron forced thousands to seek health treatment. For young people, it was a transformative moment

This article originally appeared in Nexus Media News and was made possible by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.

On the afternoon of 6 August 2012, a thick black plume grew over Richmond, California, 10 miles north-east of San Francisco. As the air grew thick with smoke, residents instinctively knew the source: the Chevron oil refinery that for decades has loomed over the working-class community.