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. 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. 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. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. 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. Community members who may have been impacted by the explosion can call the ExxonMobil claims hotline at 844-631-2539. 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. Activists carried signs reading Congratulations PBF, zero days explosion free and All lives matter while chanting Hey, hey, ho, ho, MHF has got to go. Some said the turnout demonstrates the series of refinery disruptions has reached a crisis point. They claim nothing has been done, she added, without any proof, other than their beliefs, which are incorrect and misleading.. 6 Min Read. 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). There was also minor damage to two adjoining apartments, according to Millea. And it directs L.A. County to support any new legislation that would help phase out MHF. No injuries were reported, and the fire did not impact anything offsite. And then the people who were right by just felt a shake, like an earthquake.. PBF, for its part, has repeatedly said concerns from local groups against MHF were unwarranted. 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. 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. Instead, if a leak occurred, a ground-hugging liquid cloud would form, according to a 2018 report from the Torrance refinery defending its use of the chemical. The LA County Department of Public Health and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra followed suit. Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. All the while, officials at those facilities have defended the chemicals use as safe. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The explosion occurred in the refinerys fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, where a variety of products, mainly gasoline, are produced. So far though, it doesn't appear as if any serious damage or injuries have occurred, barring reported explosions in Torrance. 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. 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 910 | Washington, DC 20006. Across California, CA | News | 15h. Hire a Houston personal injury lawyer with a proven track record. However, our staff is working remotely and can assist you via phone or email. Finally, the slide valve - a safety-critical safeguard within the system - was degraded significantly. Steve Deuel said. Those improvements were completed in 2021 and are now in service, Lafayette said. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the explosion at a Torrance oil refinery that sent four workers to the hospital. 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 cause of the explosion was not known. 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. 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. The four victims were found suffering varying degrees on injuries. An ExxonMobil refinery explosion in Torrance injured two, caused a 1.7 magnitude shake and portends pain at the pumps. 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. Had we known then what we know now, Cliff Heise said, we wouldve run, not walked home.. Torrance fire Capt. The explosion also spurred a movement among residents to oppose MHF. Several residents noticed what they described as a larger-than-usual flame from the plant's towering flare stack. The refineries are required to provide quarterly updates to the agency.. When you think about it, she said, it makes you not want to sleep at night.. 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. 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 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.. 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. Four were taken to hospitals. Chairperson Sutherland said, Adoption of and adherence to a robust safety management process would have prevented these other incidents. Times staff writer Tony Barboza contributed to this report. But at the time, theyd never heard of MHF and didnt think much of it. Some community members do not believe that the company did not enough to respond to the emergency. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. 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. April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM / KCAL News. Some said they heard one of the workers may have turned on the gas inside one of the apartments before it was completely ready. The CSBs report concludes that the unit was operating without proper procedures.. Workers were seen boarded up the windows of the affected apartments later Sunday afternoon. Gen. Xavier Becerras office investigate how the Torrance and Wilmington refineries are able to legally operate using hydrofluoric acid. All rights reserved. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Feb . Authorities said the incident happened around 6 a.m. and 36 firefighters responded to the refinery. explosion also launched an 80,000-pound piece of equipment, failure to follow safety guidelines was partly to blame for the blast. 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. 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 blast caused serious property damage to the refinery and scattered catalyst dust up to a mile away from the facility into the nearby community. Three dozen firefighters knocked down the blaze within a half-hour. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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 smoke advisory was issued for areas near the ExxonMobil refinery due to Wednesday morning's explosion and fire. Let's get out of here. 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. 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Many in the neighborhood reported being startled by a large blast. 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. California Occupational Safety and Health officials were at the site investigating. A powerful blast at an ExxonMobil oil refinery rocked Torrance, California, on Wednesday. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Of the injured, two were said to have sustained significant injuries. 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. 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. 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. The Torrance Fire Department responded to an explosion at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery on Feb. 18, 2015. 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. Liz Odendahl, Hahns spokeswoman, said in an interview that the supervisor was furious at the AQMDs decision to accept the refineries proffers. Cal/OSHA has shut down the fluid catalytic cracker and will only allow operations to resume once it can be exhibited that the unit can operate safely. 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. Fill out the form below for a free case review with one of our experienced personal injury lawyers. 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. Edited by Rachel Barnes. It was unclear what caused the fire. Si no quieres que nosotros ni nuestros socios utilicemos cookies y datos personales para estos propsitos adicionales, haz clic en Rechazar todo. Organizers estimated the crowd size at more than 400. The refineries arent going to eat that cost, William Burke, former chairman of the SCAQMDs governing board said in a previous interview. 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. 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. California workplace regulators fined ExxonMobil more than $500 million for the violations related to the explosion. 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.. Additional locations: Dallas, TX | Midland, TX | Odessa, TX | Louisiana, Plant Explosion Lawyer Refinery & Pipeline, Railroad Crossing Accidents and Train Accidents, Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act. Inside the refinery, the explosion blew off parts of an electrostatic precipitator and damaged other equipment at the plant. 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. All communications are private and confidential. The CSB notes that it is vital to ensure that safety critical equipment can successfully carry out its intended function. 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. A Redondo Beach resident told NBC4 windows rattled at his house, about five miles from the refinery. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blast, which occurred shortly before 9 a.m. PST . 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. Three of them were taken to a nearby hospital, authorities said, after earlier indicating all four had been transported. Posted Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 5:20 pm PT. The shaking was felt primarily in the immediate vicinity of the refinery, according to Caltech. "I was having my cup of coffee and all of the sudden the whole house shook, the windows vibrated," said Torrance resident John White. 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. There were also questions asking why the emergency refinery sirens did not sound following the accident. And Torrance receives about $7.5 million annually in utility user taxes from the refinerys operation. The large turnout surprised even the diverse group of participants unaccustomed to seeing such political activism in a conservative community. My first reaction was, this doesn't sound good, this doesn't look good. Weekend clouds make way for sunshine by midweek, CA awaits key decisions from reparations task force, LAPD looking for autistic man last seen in downtown, Ducks assistant coach diagnosed with melanoma, Best athletic wear for kids joining baseball and, How to watch all the Oscar-nominated movies in style, Best smart home devices for older users, according, LAPD searching for driver in fatal San Pedro hit-and-run, 1 killed amid turbulence event on business jet, Grizzlies Morant to miss Clippers, Lakers games, Festival of Whales returns to Dana Point Harbor, AlienCon attracting space enthusiasts to Pasadena, Folks near Jack Daniels facility see whiskey fungus, Suspect arrested in overnight DTLA stabbing, Commission blasts former sheriff on alleged deputy, House where JonBent Ramsey was found dead up for, 3 arrested for nearly $1 million in stolen student, Carjacking suspect shot in wild chase in L.A. 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. I wish the Torrance City Council had the courage to say that.. The explosion was mostly contained to two of the buildings units, with each sustaining significant damage. The explosion sent ash raining down on vehicles parked near the sprawling 750-acre site and caused what one worker described as intense shaking. MHF opponents have also expressed concerns that the refineries havent done enough to ensure the communities safety. Please enter valid email address to continue. It appeared it was a gas explosion, but a hazardous materials team was on scene Sunday afternoon working to determine exactly what occurred. All safety systems at the refinery operated correctly and personnel were safe, police said. Activists held an event Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the explosion at the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance that injured four workers. "You could feel it," said refinery worker Jason Hernandez. Firefighters found gasoline flowing on the ground as a result of the explosion, Torrance Fire Department Capt. Four contractors at the plant suffered injuries and required medical treatment and eight workers had to be decontaminated. For decades, hydrofluoric acid was a standard chemical in oil refining, serving as a catalyst during a process known as alkylation. 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.. The improvements, though, also came after sustained pressure from the community and watchdog agencies. Meantime, the Torrance Refining Company hosted a safety rally for employees. 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 explosion sent ash raining down on. She currently lives in Inglewood. There, too, the Torrance refinery has disagreed. We knew we were moving in next to a refinery it was here before we were, Cliff Heise said in an interview. Other than the affected crude unit, the refinery continues to operate, Brien said. 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. 46,739 visits in the last 30 days. The incident was reported around 1:15 p.m. on the 23500 block of Anza Avenue, just . The CSB is an independent, non-regulatory federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical incidents. 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. Explosion Rocks ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, California. 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. 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. Chevron, for example, successfully converted its Salt Lake City refinery from HF to a new alkylation technology last year. Torrance school officials confirmed that staff and students sheltered in place due to possible air quality issues. 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 motion also instructs county departments to review existing health and safety measures related to MHF including emergency precautions in case of an accidental leak. 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. Deuel told The Associated Press the flare system was triggered to burn off fuel that could add to the fire. The additive does this by ensuring the chemical used as a liquid during refining doesnt turn into a gas. 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. Ryan Zehl is the lawyer responsible for this website.
Dixie State University Application Deadline Spring 2022,
Articles E