For a while, though, flames shot 40 feet into the air. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news. The fire was reported to the South Coast Air Quality Management District and California Office of Emergency Services, police said. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The Supervisor knew the proffers were toothless, Odendahl said. Its been a few years now, and there has been very little progress.. In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobil's refinery in Torrance, California. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. An explosion at the ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance today sent a plume of black smoke in the air and caused ash to cascade down on the area, but there were only two minor injuries. 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.. Let's get out of here. The explosion was mostly contained to two of the buildings units, with each sustaining significant damage. Explosion Rocks ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, California. California workplace regulators fined ExxonMobil more than $500 million for the violations related to the explosion. 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. 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. Officials were not aware of their exact conditions, but witnesses said some were seriously hurt. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. 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. 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. Posted Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 5:20 pm PT. We cant assume we will be so lucky next time, whether that is another refinery accident, an earthquake, or God-forbid, an attack., The passage of the Supervisors motion is disappointing, she said in an email, because many of the points they make are both misleading and the projects are already in place, following agreements with several government agencies to install additional safety measures.. The incident caused the refinery to be . 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. 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. ExxonMobil said in a statement early Wednesday afternoon that "no harmful emissions have been detected.". Economic factors, such as job creation and the regional and global importance of oil, further complicate the issue, at least for elected officials. Torrance school officials confirmed that staff and students sheltered in place due to possible air quality issues. More information will be added as soon as it becomes available. Feb . All rights reserved. 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. 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The Torrance refinery, however, also contributes significantly to the citys economy. MHF opponents have also expressed concerns that the refineries havent done enough to ensure the communities safety. 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.. 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. 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. 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. And then the people who were right by just felt a shake, like an earthquake.. 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. 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. Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. 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. 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, 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. There was a "large fire explosion" at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery in Southern California on Wednesday morning, according to the Torrance Police Department. 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). The latest fire in an ongoing series of mishaps including leaks, excessive flaring and power outages that have plagued the refinery in recent months added fuel to the arguments of opponents that the plant is a safety and environmental hazard. In July 2016, the Torrance refinery was sold by ExxonMobil to PBF Holdings Company, LLC, which now operates as the Torrance Refining Company. 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.. Officials were investigating the cause of the over-pressurization. A powerful blast at an ExxonMobil oil refinery rocked Torrance, California, on Wednesday. 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. 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. Refineries are not supposed to have explosions. 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. Three were treated and released. The Torrance Fire Department responded to an explosion at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery on Feb. 18, 2015. 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. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento haciendo clic en el enlace Panel de control de privacidad de nuestros sitios y aplicaciones. Inside the refinery, the explosion blew off parts of an electrostatic precipitator and damaged other equipment at the plant. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. 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. 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 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.. 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. That failure ultimately allowed hydrocarbons to flow into the air side of the FCC, where they ignited in a piece of equipment called the electrostatic precipitator, or ESP, causing an explosion of the ESP. I urge SCAQMD to act with urgency, said the South Bay Democrat. No injuries were reported and there were no evacuations. 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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The fire, possibly triggered by an explosion that has not yet been confirmed, was reported at 6 a.m. Saturday in the plant's crude oil unit, said Torrance Assistant Fire Chief Steve Treskes. "I just appreciate that I'm here. Those calls for a ban remain. They heard a loud explosion, kind of like a sonic boom, said Jason Davis, who lives near the complex. ET), but there was no . Community members who may have been impacted by the explosion can call the ExxonMobil claims hotline at 844-631-2539. In working with inherently dangerous products, it is critical to conduct a robust risk management analysis with the intent of continually safety improvement.. Im absolutely appalled, said Torrance teacher Julie Stoll, referring to the lack of support from Torrance officials. Residents touted the move, introduced by Supervisor Janice Hahn and timed to the anniversary, while PBF, in a statement, criticized the county boards vote. Authorities said the incident happened around 6 a.m. and 36 firefighters responded to the refinery. 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. in communication and M.S. 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. Its unclear what effect these new calls to action will have on the refineries MHF usage. A Redondo Beach resident told NBC4 windows rattled at his house, about five miles from the refinery. PBF Energy, which now owns the Torrance Refining Co. refinery, denied that an explosion occurred. 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 motion the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed in mid-February asks Gov. Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. TORRANCE TODAY is a 15-minute live news broadcast airing Monday. No injuries were reported, and the fire did not impact anything offsite. 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. The CSBs report concludes that the unit was operating without proper procedures., MHF was the subject of a thorough technology review by a court-appointed Safety Advisor with input from the City of Torrance, Gesuina Lafayette, PBFs community relations advisor said in a recent email. Watch: Explosion reported at ExxonMobil refinery in California - CBS News State of the Union CBS News App Ukraine Crisis COVID Pandemic CBS News Live Managing Your Money Essentials Shopping. California Occupational Safety and Health officials were at the site investigating. TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) A New Jersey-based oil refining company announced Wednesday it is purchasing the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance that was badly damaged in a February explosion, with. And Torrance receives about $7.5 million annually in utility user taxes from the refinerys operation. 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. 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. 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. A reaction between hydrocarbons and catalyst takes place in what is known as the hydrocarbon side of the FCC unit. Ryan Zehl is the lawyer responsible for this website. But the consequences, according to federal investigators, could have been far worse: The explosion, investigators wrote in a report two years later, nearly released tons of modified hydrofluoric acid, potentially putting thousands in the South Bay at risk. Our Manhattan Beach office is physically closed at this time. Valero, owner of the Wilmington refinery, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 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. 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 explosion on Feb. 18, 2015, was described by federal regulators as a serious near miss.. The CSB notes that it is vital to ensure that safety critical equipment can successfully carry out its intended function. Hutchings holds a B.A. Meantime, the Torrance Refining Company hosted a safety rally for employees. 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. First published on April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM. Some community members do not believe that the company did not enough to respond to the emergency. All communications are private and confidential. Torrance firefighters responded to the 23500 block of Anza Avenue just before 1:20 p.m. Sunday. 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. 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. They have lived in a neighborhood directly adjacent to the Torrance refinery for 48 years. 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. Firefighters found gasoline flowing on the ground as a result of the explosion, Torrance Fire Department Capt. 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 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. Si quieres personalizar tus opciones, haz clic en Gestionar configuracin de privacidad.