explosion in torrance today

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. ET), but there was no . Para obtener ms informacin sobre cmo utilizamos tus datos personales, consulta nuestra Poltica de privacidad y Poltica de cookies. 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. Cliff and Donna Heise, for example, serve as secretary and treasurer of the TRAA, respectively. 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. 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. Visit our website, www.csb.gov. 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. Authorities said the incident happened around 6 a.m. and 36 firefighters responded to the refinery. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, David Lindley, guitarist best known for work with Jackson Browne, dies at 78, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, Best coffee city in the world? God may not warn us again.. 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. 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 CSB determined that on the day of the incident a slide valve that acted as a barrier failed. Kristy Hutchings covers all things Long Beach including local government, politics, and the environment. 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.. Three dozen firefighters knocked down the blaze within a half-hour. Eight workers were decontaminated at the scene. Refineries are not supposed to have explosions. Another fire? Investigators are still looking into the cause of the explosion, wh. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento haciendo clic en el enlace Panel de control de privacidad de nuestros sitios y aplicaciones. Fortunately, the explosion did not release asbestos, but the material released contained fiberglass and glass wool which can cause respiratory issues. Those calls for a ban remain. Of the injured, two were said to have sustained significant injuries. He said the blast happened in a processing facility and the material involved was gasoline. 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. 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. 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. All safety systems at the refinery operated correctly and personnel were safe, police said. 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.. And it directs L.A. County to support any new legislation that would help phase out MHF. 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. The refineries are the only two in the state that use the substance. 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 was mostly contained to two of the buildings units, with each sustaining significant damage. 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 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. 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. The four victims were found suffering varying degrees on injuries. 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. Fire crews knocked down the blaze within 30 minutes. 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 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. If that was the case, we wouldnt have seen another explosion today, she added. All communications are private and confidential. Steve Deuel said. The improvements, though, also came after sustained pressure from the community and watchdog agencies. 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. There was also minor damage to two adjoining apartments, according to Millea. No injuries were reported, and the fire did not impact anything offsite. ExxonMobil said in a statement early Wednesday afternoon that "no harmful emissions have been detected.". 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.. Hire a Houston personal injury lawyer with a proven track record. MHF opponents have also expressed concerns that the refineries havent done enough to ensure the communities safety. 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. We need to ban MHF as soon as possible. Those improvements were completed in 2021 and are now in service, Lafayette said. First thing I thought was to call my wife, my kids, and let them know I'm safe.". All the while, officials at those facilities have defended the chemicals use as safe. 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 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. The motion the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed in mid-February asks Gov. The explosion, the report said, launched a 40-ton piece of debris that nearly struck tanks carrying tens of thousands of pounds of MHF. 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. 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. The CSB also found that in multiple instances leading up to the incident, the refinery directly violated ExxonMobils corporate safety standards. 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.. Torrance firefighters . 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 fiercest local opponent of MHF is the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance. First published on April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM. 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. They claim nothing has been done, she added, without any proof, other than their beliefs, which are incorrect and misleading.. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. in journalism from the University of Southern California. 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. Torrance fire Capt. 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. 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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. "Our main concern is for the safety of our employees and our neighbors.". Environmentalists and activists, though, argue that the additives levels in MHF have significantly decreased since the modified versions creation. 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. Every one of our lawyers is a Houston personal injury attorney whos undefeated in the courtroom and has recovered some of the largest verdicts and settlements in history. 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. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. And so, the battle over MHFs future appears set to linger on with the Board of Supervisors call for a ban the latest volley. Although there are alternative alkylation technologies under development, Lafayette said, they still need to be proven to be safe, mechanically reliable, and commercially viable at the scale of the Torrance Alkylation Unit.. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for any areas where residents can see or smell smoke. 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. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 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 may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. 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. The shaking was felt primarily in the immediate vicinity of the refinery, according to Caltech. PBF, for its part, has repeatedly said concerns from local groups against MHF were unwarranted. 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. 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