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PBF Energy, which now owns the Torrance Refining Co. refinery, denied that an explosion occurred. The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. But at least for now, environmentalists and the refineries remain entrenched in their positions. Additional locations: Dallas, TX | Midland, TX | Odessa, TX | Louisiana, Plant Explosion Lawyer Refinery & Pipeline, Railroad Crossing Accidents and Train Accidents, Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act. 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County, Over $38M stolen from low-income SoCal families, Newport Beach home dangling after cliffside collapse, High-speed rail from L.A. to Vegas: What we know, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Theyre going to pass it on to the consumer.. 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Of the injured, two were said to have sustained significant injuries. The incident caused the refinery to be . Times staff writer Tony Barboza contributed to this report. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems. Living in such close proximity to the refinery, Donna Heise said, makes it hard for the couple to ignore the chemicals potential dangers. Before joining the newsroom in 2016, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. But HF is highly corrosive, posing a threat to nearby communities if it were dispersed as a gas during a fire, explosion or the like. The cause of the fire, which Millea said burned an unspecified amount of crude oil, is under scrutiny by investigators from Cal-OSHA, the states worker safety agency, while a county hazardous materials team also was on the scene. Those calls for a ban remain. Across California, CA | News | 15h. It provides 362 jobs around $30 million in wages in Torrance, according to its website. Having affordable fuel that is readily available is a vital part of the California economy.. CSB Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland said, This explosion and near miss should not have happened, and likely would not have happened, had a more robust process safety management system been in place. In working with inherently dangerous products, it is critical to conduct a robust risk management analysis with the intent of continually safety improvement.. TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) A New Jersey-based oil refining company announced Wednesday it is purchasing the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance that was badly damaged in a February explosion, with. But we had no idea about the danger.. The SCAQMD didnt comment on Hahns request for the organization to reexamine the viability of alternative technologies to MHF, some of which may be more commercially available than they were at the time of the vote. But the proposed ban on MHF is far from the first cost passed onto consumers: The 2015 explosion, according to the CSB, caused the refinery to run at limited capacity for more than a year and raised gas prices in California costing drivers in the state an estimated $2.4 billion. In 2017, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board published a 73-page report on the explosion. She currently lives in Inglewood. The latest fire in an ongoing series of mishaps including leaks, excessive flaring and power outages that have plagued the refinery in recent months added fuel to the arguments of opponents that the plant is a safety and environmental hazard. The modified HF catalyst reduces acid vapor pressure sufficiently to suppress the usual flash atomization process of hydrofluoric acid, that environmental impact report said, causing most of the acid to fall to the ground as an easily controlled liquid and reduces the potential for off-site consequences of an accidental HF release.. PUBLISHED: February 18, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. | UPDATED: February 18, 2023 at 8:01 a.m. It's been eight years since a massive explosion at the Torrance Refinery shook the South Bay with the blast. Weve won over $1 Billion for our clients, recovered some of the largest verdicts and settlement in history, and obtained record-setting victories against the biggest trucking, oil and gas, maritime and petrochemical companies in the world. As a result, when the valve was needed during an emergency, it did not work as intended, and hydrocarbons were able to reach an ignition source. Kim Baldonado, Patrick Healy, Jason Kandel, and Tena Ezzeddine contributed to this report. No further details were immediately available. A blast was reported at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California. With the addition of these voluntary safety enhancements and other obligations completed and operating, we have fulfilled our obligation to further protect Refinery personnel and the community, Lafayette said. Thousands of people could have been harmed if the MHF had dispersed beyond the Torrance refinery in 2015, the CSB report said. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. The large turnout surprised even the diverse group of participants unaccustomed to seeing such political activism in a conservative community. Thick smoke rose from a mangled, multiple-story portion of the Torrance ExxonMobil Refinery, located south of the 405 Freeway, after the 8:50 a.m. blast. There was also minor damage to two adjoining apartments, according to Millea. Explosion at Torrance refinery - Los Angeles Times SUBSCRIBE Copyright 2022, Los Angeles Times | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | CA Notice of Collection | Do Not Sell My Personal. 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Cal/OSHA has shut down the fluid catalytic cracker and will only allow operations to resume once it can be exhibited that the unit can operate safely. Kristy Hutchings covers all things Long Beach including local government, politics, and the environment. Chairperson Sutherland said, There are valuable lessons to be learned and applied at this refinery, and to all refineries in the U.S. Keeping our refineries operating safely is critical to the well-being of the employees and surrounding communities, as well as to the economy.. Tammy Khan, of the Torrance Unified School District, said the shetler-in-place order was lifted early Wednesday afternoon. We are very proud of the many technical advances we have added to our Alkylation Unit over the years, the refinery says on its website, which is additional proof of our continuing commitment to safe, reliable operations.. TORRANCE, Calif. (KABC) -- The Torrance Police Department issued an alert for the city, notifying them that the Torrance ExxonMobil Refinery had an explosion and fire early Saturday morning. The battle over a highly toxic chemical used in oil refining recently received a fresh jolt, seven years after the substance became a regional cause celebre in the wake of an explosion that rocked the Torrance Refinery. The CSB determined that on the day of the incident a slide valve that acted as a barrier failed. Visit our website, www.csb.gov. The couple was taking a stroll outside of North High Schools football field on the day of the 2015 explosion. In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobils refinery in Torrance, California. The Heises, for their part, are still working to educate residents in Torrance and Wilmington about their MHF concerns and are grateful the issue is still being monitored. 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Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement on Saturday's fire: Federal investigators in January said a failure to follow safety guidelines was partly to blame for the blast and that the aftermath could have been "catastrophic" had the equipment hit the unit housing MHF. 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By then, the husband said, theyd been living in the city long enough to know exactly what the sound was. That, the report said, would prevent the chemical from dispersing as widely as it would as an aerosol. More than a day after the accident, no representative from ExxonMobil had directly contacted the Torrance fire chief and city officials still did not know what was in the substances that were released into the surrounding areas. Inside the refinery, the explosion blew off parts of an electrostatic precipitator and damaged other equipment at the plant. in communication and M.S. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The machines are responsible for reducing ammonia and particulate emissions in a plant to comply with environmental regulations. For decades, hydrofluoric acid was a standard chemical in oil refining, serving as a catalyst during a process known as alkylation. The 2015 explosion, according to the CSB, caused the refinery to run at limited capacity for more than a year and raised gas prices in California costing drivers in the state an estimated $2.4. Finally, the slide valve - a safety-critical safeguard within the system - was degraded significantly. For a while, though, flames shot 40 feet into the air. TORRANCE (CBSLA) Firefighters say four people have been injured in a reported explosion at an apartment complex in Torrance. Deuel told The Associated Press the flare system was triggered to burn off fuel that could add to the fire. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Our Manhattan Beach office is physically closed at this time. Torrance officials said there was no chemical release and a citywide shelter-in-place order is not necessary, but those near the site should keep windows closed. ExxonMobil Refinery Explosion Injures Two, Rains Ash Upon Neighborhood - Redondo Beach, CA - The blast at the Torrance refinery could be seen for miles and caused 1.7 magnitude ground-shaking. Anza Avenue had been closed for a few hoursas emergency personnel responded. Steve Deuel said. TORRANCE, Calif. -- An explosion rocked an Exxon Mobil refinery on Wednesday morning, triggering a huge smokestack flare, raining down ash and leaving four with minor injuries, company and. It was unclear what caused the fire. / KCAL News. In the late 1980s, ExxonMobil and Phillips 66 jointly created modified hydrofluoric acid, which boasts a chemical additive that, when used in high enough concentrations, can prevent the poisonous chemical from dispersing. Explosion reported in Torrance Fire department vehicles will patrol Los Angeles with vehicles and helicopters to identify the damage or emergency needs, it was reported. The AQMD estimated that replacing the MHF alkylation units with a safer sulfuric acid unit would cost the Torrance refinery about $900 million, and could temporarily impact gasoline supply and cost. Refineries are not supposed to have explosions. Notably absent from the event was any sign of Torrance elected officials, although police officers in several patrol cars discreetly kept their eye on the peaceful protesters from a distance. Redondo Beach Local News. Community members who may have been impacted by the explosion can call the ExxonMobil claims hotline at 844-631-2539. The refinery has been under constant scrutiny since the explosion as small fires and flare ups have been reported since and raised concern among residents living nearby. ET), but there was no . The refinery relied on safeguards that could not be verified, and re-used a previous procedure deviation without a sufficient hazard analysis of the current process conditions. The additive does this by ensuring the chemical used as a liquid during refining doesnt turn into a gas. "I have second thoughts about being out here right now," said resident Anthony Scales. "I just appreciate that I'm here. A Redondo Beach resident told NBC4 windows rattled at his house, about five miles from the refinery. The proposal had plenty of support: Reps. Nanette Barragan, Ted Lieu and Maxine Waters wrote letters urging the AQMD to pass the rule and phase MHF out of Southern California. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for any areas where residents can see or smell smoke. The improvements, though, also came after sustained pressure from the community and watchdog agencies. TORRANCE, Calif.- An explosion and fire ripped through a gasoline processing unit at an Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, near Los Angeles on Wednesday, slightly injuring four workers and shattering windows of surrounding buildings, authorities said.Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blast, which occurred shortly before 9 a.m. PST (12 p.m. "It was like a loud sonic boom. PBF, for its part, has repeatedly said concerns from local groups against MHF were unwarranted. U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu said in a statement Saturday that he plans to ask the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to include Saturdays incident as part of an ongoing investigation into the problems at the trouble-plagued refinery that began two years ago. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers is a Houston Personal Injury Law Firm that represents accident victims across Texas, Louisiana and the United States. Had we known then what we know now, Cliff Heise said, we wouldve run, not walked home.. All communications are private and confidential. Were also the only law firm in the country thats currently representing over 65 of the workers who were injured in the Williams Geismar explosion, as well as 3 of the 4 workers who were tragically killed in the October 2015 Williams explosion in Gibson, Louisiana. This explosion and near miss should not have happened, and likely would not have happened, had a more robust process safety management system been in place, then-CSB Chairwoman Vanessa Allen Sutherland said in a statement at the time.