EPA finds safety flaws at refinery
Some problems at Torrance oil plant involve its use of hydrofluoric acid.
When Exxon Mobil sold its Torrance refinery to a New Jersey company last year, residents near the plant thought the days of closures, explosions and health hazards might be behind them.
But a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report released this week found that numerous safety problems are continuing under the new owner’s watch.
Among the findings in the 12-page report, inspectors cited the refinery for safety systems and equipment that were “non-operational on a recurring basis,” incorrect identification of a flammable storage unit and failure to document who was responsible for the risk management program.
Some of the troubles cited in the report are related to equipment involving the use of the highly toxic chemical hydrofluoric acid, which residents near the plant want banned because of its threat to human safety and health. Inspectors who visited the plant last fall found that the vessels containing the acid were missing required labels that confirmed when leaking nozzles had been repaired.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District this year proposed a ban on hydrofluoric acid because of safety concerns.
Hydrofluoric acid is highly dangerous because it can immediately penetrate the skin and destroy tissue. The Torrance refinery is one of only two in the state that
still use the acid. Critics say that if there is an explosion, it could release a deadly toxic cloud for miles because of the volume of the chemical used at the plant.
On Tuesday night, a standing-room-only crowd of about 350 converged on Torrance City Hall as City Council members considered resolutions regarding the refinery. Some residents and employees who attended the meeting spoke in support of the plant, but others called for more actions to improve safety.
Torrance City Councilman Tim Goodrich introduced a resolution to ban use of hydrofluoric acid at the refinery, but the council rejected the proposal 5 to 2 during a meeting that stretched past midnight.
The council instead voted unanimously for an alternative resolution to support the decisions of regulators and relevant parties.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” Goodrich said after the meeting. “I thought this was an opportunity to provide some guidance to regulators. I think the other council members didn’t feel comfortable saying we should have a phase-out of hydrofluoric acid.”
Goodrich described the alternative resolution as “milquetoast,” but he said he voted for it anyway because “it was better than nothing.”
The refinery’s owner, PBF Energy of New Jersey, has until April 27 to respond to the EPA’s findings.
Jeff Dill, president of PBF’s western division, said the company was reviewing the EPA report. “As we have in the past, we will appropriately address any EPA requests for additional information,” he said. “We are committed to operating in compliance with all laws and requirements applicable to the refinery.”
The Torrance refinery has been the source of growing scrutiny after an explosion at the plant in February 2015 that destroyed a pollution-control unit. The incident shut down the majority of the plant’s operations for more than a year.
During that time, the plant, then owned by Exxon Mobil, operated at less than 20% of capacity, which sent gasoline prices soaring in the Los Angeles area. The Torrance refinery supplies 10% of the state’s refined gasoline capacity and 20% in Southern California.
Residents and critics of Exxon Mobil’s operations had hoped that PBF, which acquired the facility in July, would run a safer refinery.
But since PBF took over, the plant has endured one mishap after another, including temporary shutdowns, flaring and a fire.
“It is very startling,” said Sally Hayati, president of the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance. “Even the equipment that they use on a daily basis is poorly maintained .... This is why we have to stop relying on the refinery to keep us safe.”
Mara Lang lives about four miles from the plant and said the lax safety is one reason she says the refinery should stop using hydrofluoric acid. She fears it could harm her family because of their proximity to the facility. “It’s hard to get up and move, but that’s crossed my mind,” she said. “People don’t want to think about it, but we have to think about it. The refinery has gotten away with so much.”
Air quality regulators in October cited Torrance Refining for causing a public nuisance when it lost power Oct. 11, sending billowing black smoke from its flare for hours.
Now with the EPA report, the same frustrations with Exxon Mobil have transferred to PBF.
“This is really putting a red flag up over the refinery that says, ‘We can’t do business as usual anymore,’ ” said Jamie Court, president of advocacy firm Consumer Watchdog, which has been critical of the plant.