explosion also launched an 80,000-pound piece of equipment, failure to follow safety guidelines was partly to blame for the blast. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for any areas where residents can see or smell smoke. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. The ExxonMobil near-disaster you probably haven't heard of California Occupational Safety and Health officials were at the site investigating. 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. Four apartments have been damaged, two of which sustained "significant damage.". 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. There, too, the Torrance refinery has disagreed. "I was having my cup of coffee and all of the sudden the whole house shook, the windows vibrated," said Torrance resident John White. They claim nothing has been done, she added, without any proof, other than their beliefs, which are incorrect and misleading.. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. Before joining the newsroom in 2016, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. Community members who may have been impacted by the explosion can call the ExxonMobil claims hotline at 844-631-2539. The explosion also launched an 80,000-pound piece of equipment within feet of a structure that housed a highly volatile and toxic substance, modified hydrofluoric acid. TORRANCE TODAY is a 15-minute live news broadcast airing Monday. Authorities said the incident happened around 6 a.m. and 36 firefighters responded to the refinery. 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. 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.. Officials were not aware of their exact conditions, but witnesses said some were seriously hurt. Explosion at Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injures four Please enter valid email address to continue. 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. 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. A Philadelphia native, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in medical anthropology and global health. When released, the chemical can form a deadly, ground-hugging cloud that, in the event of a major leak, could have caused serious injury or death to many community members, according to the agency. TORRANCE TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance 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. However, our staff is working remotely and can assist you via phone or email. Various elected officials have periodically attempted to rein in its use at the Torrance refinery and another in Wilmington, the only two in the state that use the chemical. The LA County Department of Public Health and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra followed suit. Si quieres personalizar tus opciones, haz clic en Gestionar configuracin de privacidad. The CSB also found that in multiple instances leading up to the incident, the refinery directly violated ExxonMobils corporate safety standards. 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. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. 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. 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.. Chevron, for example, successfully converted its Salt Lake City refinery from HF to a new alkylation technology last year. Bontas office said it hadnt received a letter from the county. The CSBs report concludes that the unit was operating without proper procedures.. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. 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. Those improvements were completed in 2021 and are now in service, Lafayette said. No further details were immediately available. Three were treated and released. 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. My first reaction was, this doesn't sound good, this doesn't look good. ExxonMobil's Torrance Refinery Sold Amid Report Of Potential Disaster If you or a loved one were injured or burned in a plant or refinery fire, contact ourplant and refinery accident attorneysfor a free consultation at 1-888-603-3636 or by Clicking Here. April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM The decision by the board came one week after the two refineries sent letters offering to install improved safety systems in the coming years if regulators ended their pursuit of new rules for the chemical. 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. Homes shook in . Finally, the slide valve - a safety-critical safeguard within the system - was degraded significantly. Kristy Hutchings covers all things Long Beach including local government, politics, and the environment. 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. 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. Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. 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 . 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. 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. Redondo Beach Local News. 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. 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. 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. Torrance News - ABC7 Los Angeles 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 910 | Washington, DC 20006. Organizers estimated the crowd size at more than 400. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. 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. Zehl & Associates is always looking for smart, hardworking and talented personal injury attorneys and staff to join our team. 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. For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen, cell 202-446-8094 or email public@csb.gov. In July 2016, the Torrance refinery was sold by ExxonMobil to PBF Holdings Company, LLC, which now operates as the Torrance Refining Company. Kim Baldonado, Patrick Healy, Jason Kandel, and Tena Ezzeddine contributed to this report. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. 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. Really? read one of the signs carried by chanting marchers who endured a steady downpour to protest the use of toxic hydrofluoric acid at the refinery. 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.. Lieu commended the AQMD for its proposal to phase out the use of modified hydrofluoric acid at the plant, one of only two refineries in California to rely on MHF.
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