"I just appreciate that I'm here. The explosion was mostly contained to two of the buildings units, with each sustaining significant damage. Torrance Refinery cited for failing to properly maintain equipment 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. Overturned gas tanker explodes, killing 1 person, Texas mom in custody after 5 of her kids were stabbed, leaving 3 dead, Ja Morant says he'll get help after video shows apparent gun. 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 refinery previously said that the citys Fire Department has the sole responsibility to decide what tools to use, when to use them, and what area within the community to notify. At the bottom of a public notice explaining the Torrance Community Warning System, however, ExxonMobil has the ability to initiate the use of the Community Alert Sirens and Crenshaw Street Barriers if an incident at the refinery warrants immediate community notification., The Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and the Environmental Quality Committee has planned a joint hearing to address the emergency response in the Torrance refinery explosion. That update was completed last year as well. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Explosion at Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injures four Had the tank ruptured, it would have caused a release of MHF, which is highly toxic. Tammy Khan, of the Torrance Unified School District, said the shetler-in-place order was lifted early Wednesday afternoon. Chairperson Sutherland said, Adoption of and adherence to a robust safety management process would have prevented these other incidents. Watch: Explosion reported at ExxonMobil refinery in California 'Large fire explosion' rocks ExxonMobil's Torrance Refinery in 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.. California workplace regulators fined ExxonMobil more than $500 million for the violations related to the explosion. Economic factors, such as job creation and the regional and global importance of oil, further complicate the issue, at least for elected officials. The CSB notes that it is vital to ensure that safety critical equipment can successfully carry out its intended function. 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Explosion Rips Through Torrance Refinery, Shakes South Bay 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. A smoke advisory was issued for areas near the ExxonMobil refinery due to Wednesday morning's explosion and fire. "It was like a loud sonic boom. Other than the affected crude unit, the refinery continues to operate, Brien said. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the explosion at a Torrance oil refinery that sent four workers to the hospital. The rule would have required a gradual phase-out of MHF usage at both refineries, requiring an alternative catalyst, such as sulfuric acid. Of the injured, two were said to have sustained significant injuries. The large turnout surprised even the diverse group of participants unaccustomed to seeing such political activism in a conservative community. April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM 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. Chevron, for example, successfully converted its Salt Lake City refinery from HF to a new alkylation technology last year. 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. Explosion at Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injures four Congresswoman Maxine Waters and I requested the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to investigate the explosion two years ago, Lieu said in the statement. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Robert Millea said he couldnt immediately confirm whether an explosion actually occurred, only that one was reported. And the incident was avoidable, CSB said: Mismanagement and improper safety protocols put in place by then-owner ExxonMobil who sold the refinery to PBF Energy shortly after the incident made the explosion likely. 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.. With the capacity to refine more than 150,000 barrels of gasoline a day, the . First published on April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM. 4 Injured in Possible Gas Explosion at Torrance Apartment - KTLA Final CSB Report of Explosion at ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, CA But we had no idea about the danger.. In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobil's refinery in Torrance, California. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Hahn who left the agencys board in December 2019 was one of two votes opposed to accepting the proffers. Three dozen firefighters knocked down the blaze within a half-hour. The investigation of the Torrance explosion by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board revealed that a piece of equipment nearly crashed into a tank holding tens of thousands of pounds of modified hydrofluoric acid a highly toxic chemical used to make high-octane gasoline. The additive does this by ensuring the chemical used as a liquid during refining doesnt turn into a gas. Kim Baldonado, Patrick Healy, Jason Kandel, and Tena Ezzeddine contributed to this report. For a breakdown of the fees and expenses associated with the verdicts and settlements listed on our site, please visit our Results page. 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. 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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. 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. It was unclear what caused the fire. Ryan Zehl is the lawyer responsible for this website. TORRANCE TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance Deuel told The Associated Press the flare system was triggered to burn off fuel that could add to the fire. Hire a Houston personal injury lawyer with a proven track record. Its unacceptable we were put in harms way, said Daphne Wong, who added that she does not believe the official line that Torrance is a safe community. There were also questions asking why the emergency refinery sirens did not sound following the accident. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento haciendo clic en el enlace Panel de control de privacidad de nuestros sitios y aplicaciones. If that was the case, we wouldnt have seen another explosion today, she added. (Credit: KTLA) The blast at the refinery, which is located in the 3700 block of West . Torrance News - ABC7 Los Angeles We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. We need to ban MHF as soon as possible. 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. Torrance ExxonMobil Refinery Rocked by Large Explosion - KTLA 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. They heard a loud explosion, kind of like a sonic boom, said Jason Davis, who lives near the complex. Numerous nearby residents complained about the air quality following the blast. / KCAL News. 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. Since the February 2015 explosion, the refinery has experienced multiple incidents. 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. Both the PBF and Valero refineries are situated in densely populated areas of the South Bay: About 245,000 people live within three miles of the Torrance refinery and another 153,000 live within that same distance of Valeros refinery, AQMD said. Kristy Hutchings covers all things Long Beach including local government, politics, and the environment. "Our main concern is for the safety of our employees and our neighbors.". 46,739 visits in the last 30 days. 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. The building has been undergoing renovations for some time, and the victims are believed to be remodelers working in one of the involved units, neighbors said. The explosion filled surrounding neighborhoods with ash, fiberglass, and glass wool. 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. Activists marking Torrance refinery explosion anniversary call for 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. Those safety advances, however, have come since the 2015 explosion and a harsh assessment by federal investigators. 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 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.. 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. A blast was reported at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California. Theyre going to pass it on to the consumer.. ExxonMobil Refinery Explosion Injures Two, Rains Ash That, the report said, would prevent the chemical from dispersing as widely as it would as an aerosol. In 2017, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board published a 73-page report on the explosion. TORRANCE, Calif. (Reuters) - An explosion and fire ripped through a gasoline processing unit at an Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, near Los Angeles on Wednesday, slightly . 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. By Nichola Groom TORRANCE, Calif. (Reuters) - 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. A reaction between hydrocarbons and catalyst takes place in what is known as the hydrocarbon side of the FCC unit. ExxonMobil was fined more than $500 million for workplace violations related to the blast. Authorities said the incident happened around 6 a.m. and 36 firefighters responded to the refinery. Explosion at Torrance refinery - Los Angeles Times 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. proporcionarte nuestros sitios y aplicaciones; autenticar usuarios, aplicar medidas de seguridad y evitar el spam y los abusos, y. medir el uso que haces de nuestros sitios y aplicaciones. Four apartments have been damaged, two of which sustained "significant damage.". Explosion at Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injures four Steve Deuel said. This is a breaking news story. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blast, which occurred shortly before 9 a.m. PST . 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Zehl & Associates is always looking for smart, hardworking and talented personal injury attorneys and staff to join our team. She currently lives in Inglewood. 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. Firefighters found gasoline flowing on the ground as a result of the explosion, Torrance Fire Department Capt. All communications are private and confidential. 2022 Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers. 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. The fiercest local opponent of MHF is the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance. 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. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the explosion, wh. 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. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. The fire was reported to the South Coast Air Quality Management District and California Office of Emergency Services, police said. Fire erupts at Torrance refinery just hours before protest rally 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. 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