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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.. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for any areas where residents can see or smell smoke. 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. (Credit: KTLA) The blast at the refinery, which is located in the 3700 block of West . In its final report, the CSB describes multiple gaps in the refinerys process safety management system, allowing for the operation of the FCC unit without pre-established safe operating limits and criteria for a shut down. Our Manhattan Beach office is physically closed at this time. April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM / KCAL News. People, Donna Heise said, are becoming more aware if nothing else over the last seven years.. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. In September, the South Coast Air Quality Management District governing board voted instead to accept a voluntary oil industry pledge to enhance safety measures. The explosion filled surrounding neighborhoods with ash, fiberglass, and glass wool. 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. The fire was reported to the South Coast Air Quality Management District and California Office of Emergency Services, police said. Electrostatic precipitators are large machines that stand12 stories high and weigh more than 1,000 tons. The CSBs report concludes that the unit was operating without proper procedures.. 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 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. Fill out the form below for a free case review with one of our experienced personal injury lawyers. 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. torrance News Caught on video: Car-to-car shooting on 91 Freeway Video shows a shooting between people in two cars traveling on the freeway in the Long Beach area. Following the explosion, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health shut down the part of the refinery where the accident occurred. But we had no idea about the danger.. Still, the explosion led to further safety measures, some the refineries put in voluntarily and others they did so essentially at the behest of government agencies. 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.. May 3, 2017, Torrance, CA, -- Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released its final report into the February 18, 2015, explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California. First thing I thought was to call my wife, my kids, and let them know I'm safe.". Fill Out the Form Below for a Free Case Review with our Undefeated Personal Injury Lawyers. Bontas office said it hadnt received a letter from the county. For decades, hydrofluoric acid was a standard chemical in oil refining, serving as a catalyst during a process known as alkylation. 6 Min Read. "I was having my cup of coffee and all of the sudden the whole house shook, the windows vibrated," said Torrance resident John White. 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. After protests and intensified public pressure from such activists as the Heises mounted in 2017, the AQMDs Proposed Rule 1410 became a key focus of the agencys Governing Board. Organizers estimated the crowd size at more than 400. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the explosion, wh. The remainder of the FCC unit is comprised of a portion of the reaction process and a series of pollution control equipment that uses air and is known as the air side of the unit. Zehl & Associates is always looking for smart, hardworking and talented personal injury attorneys and staff to join our team. All the while, officials at those facilities have defended the chemicals use as safe. Deuel told The Associated Press the flare system was triggered to burn off fuel that could add to the fire. in journalism from the University of Southern California. It was unclear what caused the fire. In the past 5 years alone, our Plant Explosion Lawyers have Won over $1 Billion for workers who were seriously injured and burned in refinery and industrial accidents, represented workers in connection with every major plant and refinery explosion in recent history, and recovered record-setting verdicts and settlements against the largest oil and gas companies in the world, including ExxonMobil, Williams, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips. Another fire? A five-story processing unit had burst open, spewing industrial ash over a mile away that some mistook for snow and propelling a 40-ton hunk of equipment into the air. By then, the husband said, theyd been living in the city long enough to know exactly what the sound was. That update was completed last year as well. Flares from the stack, part of a safety relief valve system, are part of normal operations that occasionally produce a rumbling sound, like distant thunder, caused by turbulent mixing of vapors. A powerful blast at an ExxonMobil oil refinery rocked Torrance, California, on Wednesday. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The refinery, where about 155,000 barrels of crude oil are processed each day, has been part of the South Bay landscape since the 1920s. I cant believe they dont have the guts to stand up and say, This is wrong and MHF needs to be out of our community, she said. 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. 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. "It was like a loud sonic boom. Theyre going to pass it on to the consumer.. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. As a result, unraveling the debates complexities remains challenging. explosion also launched an 80,000-pound piece of equipment, failure to follow safety guidelines was partly to blame for the blast. 46,739 visits in the last 30 days. Posted Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 5:20 pm PT. Four apartments have been damaged, two of which sustained "significant damage.". Environmentalists and concerned residents say MHF could prove catastrophic if the chemical were to escape, pointing to its corrosivity and studies that show its ability to travel beyond a refinerys footprint. In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobils refinery in Torrance, California. One person remained hospitalized with a knee injury. The incident was reported around 1:15 p.m. on the 23500 block of Anza Avenue, just north of the Pacific Coast Highway, Assistant Torrance Fire Chief Robert Millea said. 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. And Torrance receives about $7.5 million annually in utility user taxes from the refinerys operation. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The crowd gathered at 10 a.m. at Columbia Park on 190th Street, cheering the remarks of Lieu, Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi and other speakers, before marching the short distance to the refinery. Chevron, for example, successfully converted its Salt Lake City refinery from HF to a new alkylation technology last year. Of the injured, two were said to have sustained significant injuries. The refineries are the only two in the state that use the substance. Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. California Occupational Safety and Health officials were at the site investigating. 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. This is a breaking news story. The 2015 explosion at the Torrance Refinery was bad, but it easily could have been catastrophic, Hahn said in a press release. The refinery completed those improvements in 2020. Residents reported shaking normally associated with earthquakes throughout the South Bay area. There were also questions asking why the emergency refinery sirens did not sound following the accident. When you think about it, she said, it makes you not want to sleep at night.. 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. Although there are alternative alkylation technologies under development, Lafayette said, they still need to be proven to be safe, mechanically reliable, and commercially viable at the scale of the Torrance Alkylation Unit.. Torrance firefighters . They heard a loud explosion, kind of like a sonic boom, said Jason Davis, who lives near the complex. The cause of the explosion was not known. 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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. Several contractors were injured in the Feb. 18, 2015, blast that shut down the refinery for more than a year, leading to soaring gas prices in Southern California. Gavin Newsom to call for an investigation into the use of modified hydrofluoric acid at the facility, now operated by Torrance Refining Co., as well as by Valeros Wilmington refinery. I wish the Torrance City Council had the courage to say that.. The CSB is an independent, non-regulatory federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical incidents. That, the report said, would prevent the chemical from dispersing as widely as it would as an aerosol. The explosion sent ash raining down on vehicles parked near the sprawling 750-acre site and caused what one worker described as intense shaking. However, our staff is working remotely and can assist you via phone or email. The new campaign comes several months after air quality regulators killed a years-long push for stronger regulation of hydrofluoric acid at the two refineries. 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. Residents touted the move, introduced by Supervisor Janice Hahn and timed to the anniversary, while PBF, in a statement, criticized the county boards vote. North Torrance resident Daphne Wong, her husband, Eng, and their three children, ages 5 to 9, all walked to the refinery together despite the rain. Torrance fire Capt. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. The latest salvo in the battle over MHF came last month, when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called for a ban on the highly toxic chemical. The refineries are required to provide quarterly updates to the agency.. The fiercest local opponent of MHF is the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance. 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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The rule would have required a gradual phase-out of MHF usage at both refineries, requiring an alternative catalyst, such as sulfuric acid. For a breakdown of the fees and expenses associated with the verdicts and settlements listed on our site, please visit our Results page. Three dozen firefighters knocked down the blaze within a half-hour. Times staff writer Tony Barboza contributed to this report. Steve Deuel said. The CSBs report emphasizes that it is critical that hydrocarbons do not flow into the air side of the FCC unit, as this can create an explosive atmosphere. 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. The AQMD scrapped the potential ban in 2019 instead accepting proffers from both refineries that promised to make safety enhancements to their existing MHF units. In 2004, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said much the same in an environmental analysis the agency did when Valero introduced MHF at its Wilmington refinery. 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. 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. The explosion filled surrounding neighborhoods with ash, fiberglass, and glass wool. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Anza Avenue had been closed for a few hoursas emergency personnel responded. Inside the refinery, the explosion blew off parts of an electrostatic precipitator and damaged other equipment at the plant. They have not yet completed their final investigation, and I will be asking the Chemical Safety Board to include todays fire and explosion as part of their investigation.. Torrance school officials confirmed that staff and students sheltered in place due to possible air quality issues. 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. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. The Supervisor knew the proffers were toothless, Odendahl said. "You could feel it," said refinery worker Jason Hernandez. The explosion sent ash raining down on. The incident was reported around 1:15 p.m. on the 23500 block of Anza Avenue, just . Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. 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. Liz Odendahl, Hahns spokeswoman, said in an interview that the supervisor was furious at the AQMDs decision to accept the refineries proffers. 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. Refinery spokeswoman Betsy Brien said the fire was quickly extinguished and the Del Amo Boulevard barriers were activated to close the road under an abundance of caution.. People gathered in protest at the refinery later in the afternoon on the 2-year anniversary of an explosion at the plant that left two people injured. Numerous nearby residents complained about the air quality following the blast. A Redondo Beach resident told NBC4 windows rattled at his house, about five miles from the refinery. 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. She currently lives in Inglewood. 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.. 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.. Hahns February motion also asks the AQMDs refinery committee to provide an update on the status of safety improvements listed in the refineries proffers. The Torrance refinery, according to its website, has made several improvements, including a leak-detection system, upgraded water monitors, 24/7 automated, continuously monitored unit cameras and an expanded water mitigation system. 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.