Environmentalists and activists, though, argue that the additives levels in MHF have significantly decreased since the modified versions creation. Im absolutely appalled, said Torrance teacher Julie Stoll, referring to the lack of support from Torrance officials. Four apartments have been damaged, two of which sustained "significant damage.". 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 PBF Energy facility has been plagued with a series of incidents since the massive blast two years ago that almost caused a catastrophic release of highly toxic hydrofluoric acid that could have killed and injured thousands. 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. Hutchings holds a B.A. 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. God may not warn us again..
Explosion at Torrance refinery - Los Angeles Times 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. Many in the neighborhood reported being startled by a large blast. Other than the affected crude unit, the refinery continues to operate, Brien said. 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. 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..
Three dozen firefighters knocked down the blaze within a half-hour.
Organizers estimated the crowd size at more than 400. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Tammy Khan, of the Torrance Unified School District, said the shetler-in-place order was lifted early Wednesday afternoon. We need to ban MHF as soon as possible. By then, the husband said, theyd been living in the city long enough to know exactly what the sound was. The CSB determined that on the day of the incident a slide valve that acted as a barrier failed. 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. TORRANCE TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance TorranceCitiCABLE 4.15K subscribers 113 views 1 day ago #184 1.
"Our main concern is for the safety of our employees and our neighbors.".
Torrance firefighters responded to the 23500 block of Anza Avenue just before 1:20 p.m. Sunday. 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. In its final report, the CSB describes multiple gaps in the refinerys process safety management system, allowing for the operation of the FCC unit without pre-established safe operating limits and criteria for a shut down. And it directs L.A. County to support any new legislation that would help phase out MHF. First published on April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM. The explosion sent ash raining down on. Following the explosion, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health shut down the part of the refinery where the accident occurred. 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. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Eight workers were decontaminated at the scene. Chairperson Sutherland said, There are valuable lessons to be learned and applied at this refinery, and to all refineries in the U.S. Keeping our refineries operating safely is critical to the well-being of the employees and surrounding communities, as well as to the economy.. The Torrance Fire Department responded to an explosion at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery on Feb. 18, 2015. 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. Community members who may have been impacted by the explosion can call the ExxonMobil claims hotline at 844-631-2539. explosion also launched an 80,000-pound piece of equipment, failure to follow safety guidelines was partly to blame for the blast. By Nichola Groom 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 injuring four workers and shattering windows of surrounding buildings, authorities said. 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. In February, a large explosion occurred at ExxonMobil's refinery in Torrance, California. There, too, the Torrance refinery has disagreed. 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.. More information will be added as soon as it becomes available. The respective responses were predictable: For years, both sides of this battle have zealously defended their positions. Officials were not aware of their exact conditions, but witnesses said some were seriously hurt.
California oil refinery blast sends flames shooting into sky 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. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the explosion, wh. Activists held an event Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the explosion at the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance that injured four workers. 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. The crowd gathered at 10 a.m. at Columbia Park on 190th Street, cheering the remarks of Lieu, Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi and other speakers, before marching the short distance to the refinery. 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. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the explosion at a Torrance oil refinery that sent four workers to the hospital. If you're interested in joining our team, you can apply for a position here. Torrance fire Capt. For instance, the CSB found that during work leading up to the incident, workers violated corporate lock out tag out requirements. 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 910 | Washington, DC 20006. The 2015 explosion at the Torrance Refinery was bad, but it easily could have been catastrophic, Hahn said in a press release. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. 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.
The explosion, which happened . All safety systems at the refinery operated correctly and personnel were safe, police said. Congresswoman Maxine Waters and I requested the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to investigate the explosion two years ago, Lieu said in the statement. 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. Tests have shown that MHF, which Torrance has used since 1997, rapidly expands upon release and can travel at lethal concentrations up to two miles, according to a presentation from AQMD staff. Hahns February motion also asks the AQMDs refinery committee to provide an update on the status of safety improvements listed in the refineries proffers. Edited by Rachel Barnes. The explosion also spurred a movement among residents to oppose MHF. Those safety advances, however, have come since the 2015 explosion and a harsh assessment by federal investigators. 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 explosion, the report said, launched a 40-ton piece of debris that nearly struck tanks carrying tens of thousands of pounds of MHF. Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Posted Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 5:20 pm PT. PBF also reached a separate agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade an additional water monitor in 2020, according to Lafayette. 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. Living in such close proximity to the refinery, Donna Heise said, makes it hard for the couple to ignore the chemicals potential dangers. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Three were treated and released. Two others sustained minor injuries. Four people were injured in an explosion at an apartment building in Torrance Sunday afternoon, officials said. The fiercest local opponent of MHF is the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance. Some community members do not believe that the company did not enough to respond to the emergency. April 8, 2018 / 2:50 PM / KCAL News. It provides 362 jobs around $30 million in wages in Torrance, according to its website. The incident was reported around 1:15 p.m. on the 23500 block of Anza Avenue, just . Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. Fill out the form below for a free case review with one of our experienced personal injury lawyers. Four contractors at the plant suffered injuries and required medical treatment and eight workers had to be decontaminated.
Explosion Rocks ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, California - NBC News Finally, the slide valve - a safety-critical safeguard within the system - was degraded significantly.
Blast Blamed on Gas Buildup - Los Angeles Times "Emergency procedures have been activated to address the incident, and employees are working with the appropriate agencies," a statement by the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery said. Electrostatic precipitators are large machines that stand12 stories high and weigh more than 1,000 tons. The CSB is an independent, non-regulatory federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical incidents. Para obtener ms informacin sobre cmo utilizamos tus datos personales, consulta nuestra Poltica de privacidad y Poltica de cookies. The CSB notes that it is vital to ensure that safety critical equipment can successfully carry out its intended function. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Numerous nearby residents complained about the air quality following the blast. Across California, CA | News | 15h. Its been a few years now, and there has been very little progress.. 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. Inside the refinery, the explosion blew off parts of an electrostatic precipitator and damaged other equipment at the plant. First thing I thought was to call my wife, my kids, and let them know I'm safe.".
Redondo Beach News, Breaking News in Redondo Beach, CA In working with inherently dangerous products, it is critical to conduct a robust risk management analysis with the intent of continually safety improvement.. One person remained hospitalized with a knee injury. The battle over a highly toxic chemical used in oil refining recently received a fresh jolt, seven years after the substance became a regional cause celebre in the wake of an explosion that rocked the Torrance Refinery. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. The proposal had plenty of support: Reps. Nanette Barragan, Ted Lieu and Maxine Waters wrote letters urging the AQMD to pass the rule and phase MHF out of Southern California. Alex Wigglesworth is an environment reporter who covers wildfires for the Los Angeles Times. All the while, officials at those facilities have defended the chemicals use as safe. A powerful blast at an ExxonMobil oil refinery rocked Torrance, California, on Wednesday. Having affordable fuel that is readily available is a vital part of the California economy.. More than a day after the accident, no representative from ExxonMobil had directly contacted the Torrance fire chief and city officials still did not know what was in the substances that were released into the surrounding areas. Three of them were taken to a nearby hospital, authorities said, after earlier indicating all four had been transported.
TORRANCE TODAY - FEBRUARY 16, 2023 - City of Torrance TORRANCE, Calif. -- An explosion rocked an Exxon Mobil refinery on Wednesday morning, triggering a huge smokestack flare, raining down ash and leaving four with minor injuries, company and. My first reaction was, this doesn't sound good, this doesn't look good. Redondo Beach Local News. ET), but there was no . 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. And then the people who were right by just felt a shake, like an earthquake.. A Redondo Beach resident told NBC4 windows rattled at his house, about five miles from the refinery. A Philadelphia native, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in medical anthropology and global health. Cuando utilizas nuestros sitios y aplicaciones, usamos. No injuries were reported, and the fire did not impact anything offsite. 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. The building has been undergoing renovations for some time, and the victims are believed to be remodelers working in one of the involved units, neighbors said. Thousands of people could have been harmed if the MHF had dispersed beyond the Torrance refinery in 2015, the CSB report said. Several residents noticed what they described as a larger-than-usual flame from the plant's towering flare stack. The explosion sent ash raining down on vehicles parked near the sprawling 750-acre site and caused what one worker described as intense shaking. But at the time, theyd never heard of MHF and didnt think much of it. Robert Millea said he couldnt immediately confirm whether an explosion actually occurred, only that one was reported. 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. Some said they heard one of the workers may have turned on the gas inside one of the apartments before it was completely ready. Those improvements were completed in 2021 and are now in service, Lafayette said. 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. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Residents touted the move, introduced by Supervisor Janice Hahn and timed to the anniversary, while PBF, in a statement, criticized the county boards vote. She currently lives in Inglewood. The four victims were found suffering varying degrees on injuries. 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. 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. 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. Steve Deuel said. The explosion was mostly contained to two of the buildings units, with each sustaining significant damage. PBF Energy, which now owns the Torrance Refining Co. refinery, denied that an explosion occurred.
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