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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. The Torrance refinery, however, also contributes significantly to the citys economy. There have also been multiple safety enhancements to prevent leaks, they say. Theyre going to pass it on to the consumer.. The CSB notes that it is vital to ensure that safety critical equipment can successfully carry out its intended function. Hahns February motion also asks the AQMDs refinery committee to provide an update on the status of safety improvements listed in the refineries proffers. Let's get out of here. There was no sign of an announced safety rally at the refinery PBF had planned to hold for workers as a counterpoint to the demonstration so they could reflect upon the (2015) incident.. In 2017, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board published a 73-page report on the explosion. For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen, cell 202-446-8094 or email public@csb.gov. But we had no idea about the danger.. The PBF Energy facility has been plagued with a series of incidents since the massive blast two years ago that almost caused a catastrophic release of highly toxic hydrofluoric acid that could have killed and injured thousands. For more than seven years, members of small, local activist groups have been irresponsibly making claims against the Refinerys use of MHF, without any basis in fact, Lafayette wrote recently. Times staff writer Tony Barboza contributed to this report. 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. Since then, at least one leak of hydrofluoric acid and several fires have prompted the South Coast Air Quality Management District to propose a ban on hydrofluoric acid. All rights reserved. Residents touted the move, introduced by Supervisor Janice Hahn and timed to the anniversary, while PBF, in a statement, criticized the county boards vote. The refineries are required to provide quarterly updates to the agency.. Paige Austin, Patch Staff. For a while, though, flames shot 40 feet into the air. Bontas office said it hadnt received a letter from the county. TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA Just before 9 a.m. on February 18, the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California exploded, shaking the surrounding community with the force of a 1.7 magnitude earthquake, and sending a quarter ton of sulfur oxide gas into the atmosphere. Every one of our lawyers is a Houston personal injury attorney whos undefeated in the courtroom and has recovered some of the largest verdicts and settlements in history. mostrar anuncios y contenido personalizados basados en perfiles de inters; medir la efectividad de los anuncios y el contenido personalizados, y. desarrollar y mejorar nuestros productos y servicios. A blast was reported at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California. The blast caused serious property damage to the refinery and scattered catalyst dust up to a mile away from the facility into the nearby community. A smoke advisory was issued for areas near the ExxonMobil refinery due to Wednesday morning's explosion and fire. PBF, for its part, has repeatedly said concerns from local groups against MHF were unwarranted. The explosion, which happened . Its been a few years now, and there has been very little progress.. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. And then the people who were right by just felt a shake, like an earthquake.. A Philadelphia native, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in medical anthropology and global health. Passing motorists supplied supportive honks. 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. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento haciendo clic en el enlace Panel de control de privacidad de nuestros sitios y aplicaciones. All the while, officials at those facilities have defended the chemicals use as safe. The refineries are the only two in the state that use the substance. On a day when activists marked the two-year anniversary of an explosion that rocked the then-ExxonMobil refinery and showered neighborhoods with industrial debris, another fire erupted at the troubled Torrance plant early Saturday. For a breakdown of the fees and expenses associated with the verdicts and settlements listed on our site, please visit our Results page. TORRANCE TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance TorranceCitiCABLE 4.15K subscribers 113 views 1 day ago #184 1. / KCAL News. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Ryan Zehl is the lawyer responsible for this website. Our Manhattan Beach office is physically closed at this time. And those who run the Torrance facility also say its refinery hasnt experienced an off-site leak of either HF or MHF since it opened in 1966. Steve Deuel said. "You could feel it," said refinery worker Jason Hernandez. Kim Baldonado, Patrick Healy, Jason Kandel, and Tena Ezzeddine contributed to this report. TORRANCE An explosion and fire in a gasoline processing unit rocked the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance today, injuring three workers and sending flames and ash into the sky. Tests have shown that MHF, which Torrance has used since 1997, rapidly expands upon release and can travel at lethal concentrations up to two miles, according to a presentation from AQMD staff. If you're interested in joining our team, you can apply for a position here. Alex Wigglesworth is an environment reporter who covers wildfires for the Los Angeles Times. Please enter valid email address to continue. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. No injuries were reported and there were no evacuations. For instance, the CSB found that during work leading up to the incident, workers violated corporate lock out tag out requirements. The Torrance Refinery Action Alliance plans on Tuesday to deliver a letter from its science advisory panel to Newsoms office urging him to request that Atty. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blast, which occurred shortly before 9 a.m. PST . At the center of that debate is the modified part of MHF. The rule would have required a gradual phase-out of MHF usage at both refineries, requiring an alternative catalyst, such as sulfuric acid. The four victims were found suffering varying degrees on injuries. The AQMDs own reports warned that the ability of MHF to prevent formation of a vapor/aerosol cloud is highly uncertain and that a release of MHF will result in exposure to HF with the same health effects.. 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. 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. Minor injuries were reported after the explosion ripped apart structures at the oil refinery and shook homes for miles around the blast site in southern Los Angeles County. With the capacity to refine more than 150,000 barrels of gasoline a day, the . Since the February 2015 explosion, the refinery has experienced multiple incidents. Posted Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 5:20 pm PT. Numerous nearby residents complained about the air quality following the blast. ExxonMobil said in a statement early Wednesday afternoon that "no harmful emissions have been detected.". They heard a loud explosion, kind of like a sonic boom, said Jason Davis, who lives near the complex. Refinery officials those from ExxonMobil, which owned the Torrance Refining Company during the explosion, and current owner PBF Energy have repeatedly pushed back on that conclusion, saying MHF doesnt pose a widespread threat. Four contractors at the plant suffered injuries and required medical treatment and eight workers had to be decontaminated. Electrostatic precipitators are large machines that stand12 stories high and weigh more than 1,000 tons. The blast caused serious property damage to the refinery and scattered catalyst dust up to a mile away from the facility into the nearby community. 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. The issues to be discussed include A decision not to use the ExxonMobil emergency siren to alert the community to the explosion and subsequent ash and dust fallout.. The machines are responsible for reducing ammonia and particulate emissions in a plant to comply with environmental regulations. The Oscars will air on ABC and can be streamed on ABC.com and the ABC app as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV or FuboTV. All rights reserved, Los Angeles County Holds Stable COVID-19 Hospitalization Rate, Tax Deadlines Extended to October for Most Californians Due to Storms, Check Your Pockets: These Coins Can Be Worth Up To $24,000, Glendale Neighborhood Frustrated After an Illegal Hostel Moves In, Road Rage Incident Kicks Off Pursuit, Carjacking, and Weapon Fired Out Window in Wild Chase, NASA Images Show Southern California Mountains Before and After Winter Storm. The Torrance Fire Department responded to an explosion at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery on Feb. 18, 2015. Workers were seen boarded up the windows of the affected apartments later Sunday afternoon. Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Two others sustained minor injuries. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. The explosion was so severe that it caused residents in the area to experience a shock similar to the effects of a 1.7 magnitude earthquake. Hutchings holds a B.A. The Torrance refinery has completed all safety enhancements and Valero has begun installation of some elements of safety measures structures and additional implementation is ongoing, said SCAQMD spokesperson Nahal Mogharabi in an email. 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. California Occupational Safety and Health officials were at the site investigating. An explosion at the ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance today sent a plume of black smoke in the air and caused ash to cascade down on the area, but there were only two minor injuries. Caltech officials said the explosion created ground shaking that was equivalent to a magnitude-1.7 earthquake. Cuando utilizas nuestros sitios y aplicaciones, usamos. Had the tanks ruptured, the report said, it would have caused a massive release of MHF, which can be deadly to anyone who comes in contact with it. 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. Visit our website, www.csb.gov. And it directs L.A. County to support any new legislation that would help phase out MHF. Its unclear what effect these new calls to action will have on the refineries MHF usage. The information you review on this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice.The verdicts and settlements that we have listed are simply intended to be representative of the cases that Zehl & Associates has handled for past clients; they are not a guarantee or prediction of the outcome in your or any other lawsuit. Deuel told The Associated Press the flare system was triggered to burn off fuel that could add to the fire. In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobils refinery in Torrance, California. Firefighters found gasoline flowing on the ground as a result of the explosion, Torrance Fire Department Capt. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bontas offices to take all possible actions to require refineries in California to convert from MHF to safer alternatives.. All communications are private and confidential. People, Donna Heise said, are becoming more aware if nothing else over the last seven years.. CSB Releases Final Report into 2015 Explosion at ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, California, Drivers of Critical Chemical Safety Change, Process Safety Management for the 21st Century, Emergency Planning and Response (Preparedness), Website design & development by Americaneagle.com. The explosion, the report said, launched a 40-ton piece of debris that nearly struck tanks carrying tens of thousands of pounds of MHF. However, our staff is working remotely and can assist you via phone or email. The fire, possibly triggered by an explosion that has not yet been confirmed, was reported at 6 a.m. Saturday in the plants crude oil unit, said Torrance Assistant Fire Chief Steve Treskes. First published on April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM. Member-Designated Transportation Projects, Fire erupts at Torrance refinery just hours before protest rally, announced safety rally at the refinery PBF had planned to hold for workers as a counterpoint to the demonstration, Manhattan Beach Office (By Appointment Only). MHF opponents have also expressed concerns that the refineries havent done enough to ensure the communities safety. A group of activists on Saturday marked the fifth anniversary of an explosion at the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance that injured four workers and prompted continuing concerns about the. Before joining the newsroom in 2016, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. They have lived in a neighborhood directly adjacent to the Torrance refinery for 48 years. "It was like a loud sonic boom. We voluntarily enhanced the Alkylation Units robust, layered safety systems already considered by experts to be amongst the most advanced in the world, Lafayette wrote, by installing additional safety enhancements.. The CSB investigation also discovered that a large piece of debris from the explosion narrowly missed hitting a tank containing tens of thousands of pounds of modified hydrofluoric acid, or MHF. 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 governors office confirmed they received the request, but declined further comment. "I kind of figured we had an earthquake, then I realized, living by the factory for all those years, they had a problem with the factory.". The cause of the accident was not immediately known, but it was believed to be caused by over pressurization in the plants electrostatic precipitators. 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. Authorities said the incident happened around 6 a.m. and 36 firefighters responded to the refinery. 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. Other than the affected crude unit, the refinery continues to operate, Brien said. Several residents noticed what they described as a larger-than-usual flame from the plant's towering flare stack. Para obtener ms informacin sobre cmo utilizamos tus datos personales, consulta nuestra Poltica de privacidad y Poltica de cookies. 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 910 | Washington, DC 20006. The explosion also spurred a movement among residents to oppose MHF. The incident caused the refinery to be run at limited capacity for over a year, raising gas prices in California and costing drivers in the state an estimated $2.4 billion. Another fire? So far though, it doesn't appear as if any serious damage or injuries have occurred, barring reported explosions in Torrance. But at least for now, environmentalists and the refineries remain entrenched in their positions. Inside the refinery, the explosion blew off parts of an electrostatic precipitator and damaged other equipment at the plant.