While the unit where the blast occurred was ordered shut down, the rest of the refinery is still in operation. Fire erupts at Torrance refinery just hours before protest rally Notably absent from the event was any sign of Torrance elected officials, although police officers in several patrol cars discreetly kept their eye on the peaceful protesters from a distance. 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. 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. Gen. Xavier Becerras office investigate how the Torrance and Wilmington refineries are able to legally operate using hydrofluoric acid. Advocates renew call for MHF ban on 8th anniversary of Torrance Explosion at Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injures four He said the blast happened in a processing facility and the material involved was gasoline. Had we known then what we know now, Cliff Heise said, we wouldve run, not walked home.. Ryan Zehl is the lawyer responsible for this website. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Before joining the newsroom in 2016, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. Three dozen firefighters knocked down the blaze within a half-hour. A Redondo Beach resident told NBC4 windows rattled at his house, about five miles from the refinery. 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.. Let's get out of here. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. TORRANCE TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance TorranceCitiCABLE 4.15K subscribers 113 views 1 day ago #184 1. Explosion at Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injures four That, the report said, would prevent the chemical from dispersing as widely as it would as an aerosol. 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.. Watch: Explosion reported at ExxonMobil refinery in California 4.3 earthquake strikes near LA, Internet asks 'why did it - MEAWW TORRANCE (CBSLA) Firefighters say four people have been injured in a reported explosion at an apartment complex in Torrance. Anza Avenue had been closed for a few hoursas emergency personnel responded. 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.. TORRANCE TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance Meantime, the Torrance Refining Company hosted a safety rally for employees. The CSB determined that on the day of the incident a slide valve that acted as a barrier failed. 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. Those improvements were completed in 2021 and are now in service, Lafayette said. 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. 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. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. Times staff writer Tony Barboza contributed to this report. The LA County Department of Public Health and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra followed suit. More information will be added as soon as it becomes available. Explosion, fire at ExxonMobil refinery rocks Torrance 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The explosion filled surrounding neighborhoods with ash, fiberglass, and glass wool. 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. First published on April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM. 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Refineries are not supposed to have explosions. 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 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. Living in such close proximity to the refinery, Donna Heise said, makes it hard for the couple to ignore the chemicals potential dangers. Torrance firefighters . Theyre going to pass it on to the consumer.. The explosion, which happened . In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobils refinery in Torrance, California. TORRANCE (CBSLA) Firefighters say four people have been injured in a reported explosion at an apartment complex in Torrance. Liz Odendahl, Hahns spokeswoman, said in an interview that the supervisor was furious at the AQMDs decision to accept the refineries proffers. California workplace regulators fined ExxonMobil more than $500 million for the violations related to the explosion. But at the time, theyd never heard of MHF and didnt think much of it. The additive does this by ensuring the chemical used as a liquid during refining doesnt turn into a gas. Caltech officials said the explosion created ground shaking that was equivalent to a magnitude-1.7 earthquake. Several residents noticed what they described as a larger-than-usual flame from the plant's towering flare stack. Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. "Our main concern is for the safety of our employees and our neighbors.". 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. If that was the case, we wouldnt have seen another explosion today, she added. Still, the explosion led to further safety measures, some the refineries put in voluntarily and others they did so essentially at the behest of government agencies. Economic factors, such as job creation and the regional and global importance of oil, further complicate the issue, at least for elected officials. It provides 362 jobs around $30 million in wages in Torrance, according to its website. In the late 1980s, ExxonMobil and Phillips 66 jointly created modified hydrofluoric acid, which boasts a chemical additive that, when used in high enough concentrations, can prevent the poisonous chemical from dispersing. 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. In working with inherently dangerous products, it is critical to conduct a robust risk management analysis with the intent of continually safety improvement.. 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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. The explosion, the report said, launched a 40-ton piece of debris that nearly struck tanks carrying tens of thousands of pounds of MHF. 4 Injured in Possible Gas Explosion at Torrance Apartment - KTLA "You could feel it," said refinery worker Jason Hernandez. 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. An ExxonMobil refinery explosion in Torrance injured two, caused a 1.7 magnitude shake and portends pain at the pumps. 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.. 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. 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. 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.

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