She currently lives in Inglewood. It appeared it was a gas explosion, but a hazardous materials team was on scene Sunday afternoon working to determine exactly what occurred. The explosion also spurred a movement among residents to oppose MHF. But we had no idea about the danger.. "I just appreciate that I'm here. TORRANCE TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance TorranceCitiCABLE 4.15K subscribers 113 views 1 day ago #184 1. Steve Deuel said. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. "Our main concern is for the safety of our employees and our neighbors.". 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. More information will be added as soon as it becomes available. The refineries arent going to eat that cost, William Burke, former chairman of the SCAQMDs governing board said in a previous interview. Some said they heard one of the workers may have turned on the gas inside one of the apartments before it was completely ready. 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. All communications are private and confidential. 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. Kristy Hutchings covers all things Long Beach including local government, politics, and the environment. I wish the Torrance City Council had the courage to say that.. On Saturday, the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance announced a campaign urging Gov. 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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The 2015 explosion at the Torrance Refinery was bad, but it easily could have been catastrophic, Hahn said in a press release. 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.. 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. 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 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. ExxonMobil Refinery Explosion Injures Two, Rains Ash That 2015 blast registered as a small earthquake that shook nearby houses, injured four of the facilitys workers and covered the area in dust and ash. An ExxonMobil refinery explosion in Torrance injured two, caused a 1.7 magnitude shake and portends pain at the pumps. Explosion, fire at ExxonMobil refinery rocks Torrance 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. Ryan Zehl is the lawyer responsible for this website. 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. 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. 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. The fiercest local opponent of MHF is the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance. The four victims were found suffering varying degrees on injuries. No injuries were reported, and the fire did not impact anything offsite. Three dozen firefighters knocked down the blaze within a half-hour. But at the time, theyd never heard of MHF and didnt think much of it. "Emergency procedures have been activated to address the incident, and employees are working with the appropriate agencies," a statement by the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery said. Having affordable fuel that is readily available is a vital part of the California economy.. 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. Caltech officials said the explosion created ground shaking that was equivalent to a magnitude-1.7 earthquake. 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. Blast Blamed on Gas Buildup - Los Angeles Times And it directs L.A. County to support any new legislation that would help phase out MHF. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. There were also questions asking why the emergency refinery sirens did not sound following the accident. 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. For instance, the CSB found that during work leading up to the incident, workers violated corporate lock out tag out requirements. At the center of that debate is the modified part of MHF. The refineries are required to provide quarterly updates to the agency.. 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. The couple was taking a stroll outside of North High Schools football field on the day of the 2015 explosion. With the capacity to refine more than 150,000 barrels of gasoline a day, the . 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. Hire a Houston personal injury lawyer with a proven track record. The fire was reported to the South Coast Air Quality Management District and California Office of Emergency Services, police said. 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. Torrance firefighters responded to the 23500 block of Anza Avenue just before 1:20 p.m. Sunday. Some community members do not believe that the company did not enough to respond to the emergency. 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. 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 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.. 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. 2022 Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers. 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). Final CSB Report of Explosion at ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, CA 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. 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. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news. Fire, explosion reported at Torrance Refinery, police say In working with inherently dangerous products, it is critical to conduct a robust risk management analysis with the intent of continually safety improvement.. I urge SCAQMD to act with urgency, said the South Bay Democrat. 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. in communication and M.S. The machines are responsible for reducing ammonia and particulate emissions in a plant to comply with environmental regulations. 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. 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. But in the years since the 2015 explosion, residents have continued decrying MHF. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for any areas where residents can see or smell smoke. 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 explosion sent ash raining down on. 'Large fire explosion' rocks ExxonMobil's Torrance Refinery in 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.. The shaking was felt primarily in the immediate vicinity of the refinery, according to Caltech. Four apartments have been damaged, two of which sustained "significant damage.". Chevron, for example, successfully converted its Salt Lake City refinery from HF to a new alkylation technology last year. Manhattan Beach, CA crime, fire and public safety news and events, police & fire department updates In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobil's refinery in Torrance, California. 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. There was also minor damage to two adjoining apartments, according to Millea. Hahns February motion also asks the AQMDs refinery committee to provide an update on the status of safety improvements listed in the refineries proffers. Living in such close proximity to the refinery, Donna Heise said, makes it hard for the couple to ignore the chemicals potential dangers. 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. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento haciendo clic en el enlace Panel de control de privacidad de nuestros sitios y aplicaciones. The explosion filled surrounding neighborhoods with ash, fiberglass, and glass wool. Hours after an explosion ripped through a Torrance refinery, residents for miles around continue to grapple with ash, a gas odor and concerns over poor air quality while inspectors confirmed that a filtration device was the source of the blast. Three were treated and released. 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 TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance Before joining the newsroom in 2016, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. A buildup of natural gas caused the explosion that leveled a Torrance home, damaged scores of others and rained glass, stucco and other debris over a two-block area, investigators said. Those improvements were completed in 2021 and are now in service, Lafayette said. They have lived in a neighborhood directly adjacent to the Torrance refinery for 48 years. ExxonMobil was fined more than $500 million for workplace violations related to the blast. 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. California fire crews respond to ExxonMobil refinery explosion - CBS News You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Inside the refinery, the explosion blew off parts of an electrostatic precipitator and damaged other equipment at the plant. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Hahn who left the agencys board in December 2019 was one of two votes opposed to accepting the proffers. My first reaction was, this doesn't sound good, this doesn't look good. Of the injured, two were said to have sustained significant injuries. The additive does this by ensuring the chemical used as a liquid during refining doesnt turn into a gas. There was a "large fire explosion" at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery in Southern California on Wednesday morning, according to the Torrance Police Department. No injuries were reported and there were no evacuations. The explosion occurred in the refinerys fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, where a variety of products, mainly gasoline, are produced. Zehl & Associates is always looking for smart, hardworking and talented personal injury attorneys and staff to join our team. When you think about it, she said, it makes you not want to sleep at night.. If that was the case, we wouldnt have seen another explosion today, she added. 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. All the while, officials at those facilities have defended the chemicals use as safe. First published on April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. 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. 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 Refinery on April 22 reported an unplanned flaring event, induced by damaged equipment, that sent an additional 765 pounds of SOx and 143 pounds of volatile organic compounds into the. 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. The CSB determined that on the day of the incident a slide valve that acted as a barrier failed. We need to ban MHF as soon as possible. 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. Since the February 2015 explosion, the refinery has experienced multiple incidents. The Torrance refinery, however, also contributes significantly to the citys economy. Across California, CA | News | 15h. 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. 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. Residents reported shaking normally associated with earthquakes throughout the South Bay area. The cause of the explosion was not known. Finally, the slide valve - a safety-critical safeguard within the system - was degraded significantly. Those calls for a ban remain. 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. This is a breaking news story. 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. 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.. Explosion at Torrance refinery - Los Angeles Times He said the blast happened in a processing facility and the material involved was gasoline. 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. There, too, the Torrance refinery has disagreed. Officials were not aware of their exact conditions, but witnesses said some were seriously hurt. PBF also reached a separate agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade an additional water monitor in 2020, according to Lafayette. "You could feel it," said refinery worker Jason Hernandez. While the unit where the blast occurred was ordered shut down, the rest of the refinery is still in operation. Three dozen firefighters knocked down the blaze within a half-hour. 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. It was unclear what caused the fire. Theyre going to pass it on to the consumer.. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Explosion at Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injures four The governors office confirmed they received the request, but declined further comment. 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.. But at least for now, environmentalists and the refineries remain entrenched in their positions. ExxonMobil Refinery Explosion in Torrance, CA - Zehl & Associates A reaction between hydrocarbons and catalyst takes place in what is known as the hydrocarbon side of the FCC unit. 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 910 | Washington, DC 20006. California Occupational Safety and Health officials were at the site investigating. Eight workers were decontaminated at the scene. The explosion, which happened . 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. Authorities said the incident happened around 6 a.m. and 36 firefighters responded to the refinery. The explosion sent ash raining down on vehicles parked near the sprawling 750-acre site and caused what one worker described as intense shaking. 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. That, the report said, would prevent the chemical from dispersing as widely as it would as an aerosol. 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. Following the explosion, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health shut down the part of the refinery where the accident occurred. Its been a few years now, and there has been very little progress.. 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. Kim Baldonado, Patrick Healy, Jason Kandel, and Tena Ezzeddine contributed to this report. The refineries are the only two in the state that use the substance. Paige Austin, Patch Staff. 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. 6 Min Read. Si quieres personalizar tus opciones, haz clic en Gestionar configuracin de privacidad. The Supervisor knew the proffers were toothless, Odendahl said. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. 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. Just before 9 that morning, pent-up gases at ExxonMobil's Torrance refinery south of Los Angeles had triggered an explosion so massive it registered as a magnitude-1.7 tremor. U.S. Chemical Safety Board. "I have second thoughts about being out here right now," said resident Anthony Scales. PBF Energy, which now owns the Torrance Refining Co. refinery, denied that an explosion occurred. in journalism from the University of Southern California. Homes shook in . TORRANCE TODAY is a 15-minute live news broadcast airing Monday. Fire erupts at Torrance refinery just hours before protest rally