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Investigators are trying to determine what caused the explosion at a Torrance oil refinery that sent four workers to the hospital. 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.. And then the people who were right by just felt a shake, like an earthquake.. The explosion on Feb. 18, 2015, was described by federal regulators as a serious near miss.. No injuries were reported, and the fire did not impact anything offsite. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. While the unit where the blast occurred was ordered shut down, the rest of the refinery is still in operation. 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. The cause of the explosion was not known. California Occupational Safety and Health officials were at the site investigating. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. 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 blast caused serious property damage to the refinery and scattered catalyst dust up to a mile away from the facility into the nearby community. There have also been multiple safety enhancements to prevent leaks, they say. Alex Wigglesworth is an environment reporter who covers wildfires for the Los Angeles Times. Bontas office said it hadnt received a letter from the county. 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. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Fill Out the Form Below for a Free Case Review with our Undefeated Personal Injury Lawyers. The work of the Safety Auditor was overseen by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge and approved prior to use of MHF at the refinery.. PBF Energy, which now owns the Torrance Refining Co. refinery, denied that an explosion occurred. 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. 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. 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 explosion, which happened . Para obtener ms informacin sobre cmo utilizamos tus datos personales, consulta nuestra Poltica de privacidad y Poltica de cookies. Please enter valid email address to continue. explosion also launched an 80,000-pound piece of equipment, failure to follow safety guidelines was partly to blame for the blast. 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. 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. It provides 362 jobs around $30 million in wages in Torrance, according to its website. I urge SCAQMD to act with urgency, said the South Bay Democrat. Si quieres personalizar tus opciones, haz clic en Gestionar configuracin de privacidad. 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. He said the blast happened in a processing facility and the material involved was gasoline. 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.. For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen, cell 202-446-8094 or email public@csb.gov. In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobil's refinery in Torrance, California. There, too, the Torrance refinery has disagreed. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. 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. 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.. All communications are private and confidential. 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. And Torrance receives about $7.5 million annually in utility user taxes from the refinerys operation. PBF also reached a separate agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade an additional water monitor in 2020, according to Lafayette. Unfortunately, ExxonMobil, the owner-operator of the refinery at the time of the accident, did not respond to the CSBs requests for information detailing safeguards to prevent or mitigate a release of MHF, and therefore the agency was unable to fully explore this topic in its final report. Workers were seen boarded up the windows of the affected apartments later Sunday afternoon. The bottom line is Torrance Refinery now has the most advanced safety systems of any HF Alkylation Unit in California, the U.S., and the world.. Explosion Rocks ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, California. 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. 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. Thousands of people could have been harmed if the MHF had dispersed beyond the Torrance refinery in 2015, the CSB report said. 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Anza Avenue had been closed for a few hoursas emergency personnel responded. She currently lives in Inglewood. My first reaction was, this doesn't sound good, this doesn't look good. All Rights Reserved. The large turnout surprised even the diverse group of participants unaccustomed to seeing such political activism in a conservative community. Three were treated and released. Authorities said the incident happened around 6 a.m. and 36 firefighters responded to the refinery. / KCAL News. 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. Had we known then what we know now, Cliff Heise said, we wouldve run, not walked home.. 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 potential for an even more catastrophic incident and the release of toxic chemicals and fumes into local communities. Other than the affected crude unit, the refinery continues to operate, Brien said. A reaction between hydrocarbons and catalyst takes place in what is known as the hydrocarbon side of the FCC unit. All communications are private and confidential. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news. 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. 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. 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 LA County Department of Public Health and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra followed suit. The refineries are required to provide quarterly updates to the agency.. Feb . I wish the Torrance City Council had the courage to say that.. At the center of that debate is the modified part of MHF. Hahn who left the agencys board in December 2019 was one of two votes opposed to accepting the proffers. It was unclear what caused the fire. 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 communication and M.S. The state could potentially lose thousands of jobs, and it could result in higher gasoline prices at the pump for California residents, businesses, and government, Californians for a Sustainable Economy an association representing hundreds of local businesses wrote in opposition to the ban. 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. 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. "I was having my cup of coffee and all of the sudden the whole house shook, the windows vibrated," said Torrance resident John White. MHF opponents have also expressed concerns that the refineries havent done enough to ensure the communities safety. "You could feel it," said refinery worker Jason Hernandez. Those safety enhancements, Lafayette said, include installing a new protective steel structure, water mitigation dome and curtain, an enhanced HF/MHF detection system, and additional water mitigation monitors. TORRANCE TODAY is a 15-minute live news broadcast airing Monday. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blast, which occurred shortly before 9 a.m. PST . When you think about it, she said, it makes you not want to sleep at night.. 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. Liz Odendahl, Hahns spokeswoman, said in an interview that the supervisor was furious at the AQMDs decision to accept the refineries proffers. Across California, CA | News | 15h. 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. Let's get out of here. Four were taken to hospitals. Refineries are not supposed to have explosions. Passing motorists supplied supportive honks. Cliff and Donna Heise, for example, serve as secretary and treasurer of the TRAA, respectively. Kim Baldonado, Patrick Healy, Jason Kandel, and Tena Ezzeddine contributed to this report. More Stories Drone helps. This is a breaking news story. No further details were immediately available. If that was the case, we wouldnt have seen another explosion today, she added. Manhattan Beach, CA crime, fire and public safety news and events, police & fire department updates 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. On Saturday, the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance announced a campaign urging Gov. 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. Organizers estimated the crowd size at more than 400. 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.. 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. 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. Activists held an event Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the explosion at the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance that injured four workers. Homes shook in . The explosion occurred in the refinerys fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, where a variety of products, mainly gasoline, are produced. TORRANCE (CBSLA) Firefighters say four people have been injured in a reported explosion at an apartment complex in Torrance. The motion the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed in mid-February asks Gov. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Our Manhattan Beach office is physically closed at this time. And so, the battle over MHFs future appears set to linger on with the Board of Supervisors call for a ban the latest volley. 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. The shaking was felt primarily in the immediate vicinity of the refinery, according to Caltech. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 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. In 2017, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board published a 73-page report on the explosion. 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. Two others sustained minor injuries. 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. Other groups including the refinerys unions and local businesses feared the potential economic fallout if the refineries were forced to transition to a safer alternative. 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. All the while, officials at those facilities have defended the chemicals use as safe. 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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. ExxonMobil said in a statement early Wednesday afternoon that "no harmful emissions have been detected.". Theyre going to pass it on to the consumer.. Refinery officials, though, say MHF was specifically designed to be safer than its non-modified original hydrofluoric acid and has been reviewed by experts and deemed the best catalyst for the refining process. 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. The improvements, though, also came after sustained pressure from the community and watchdog agencies. An ExxonMobil refinery explosion in Torrance injured two, caused a 1.7 magnitude shake and portends pain at the pumps. 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.. It appeared it was a gas explosion, but a hazardous materials team was on scene Sunday afternoon working to determine exactly what occurred. The CSB determined that on the day of the incident a slide valve that acted as a barrier failed. Torrance firefighters responded to the 23500 block of Anza Avenue just before 1:20 p.m. Sunday. For a while, though, flames shot 40 feet into the air. Tammy Khan, of the Torrance Unified School District, said the shetler-in-place order was lifted early Wednesday afternoon. 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. Three of them were taken to a nearby hospital, authorities said, after earlier indicating all four had been transported. 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. ET), but there was no . 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..
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