Leak of potentially dangerous gas sparks state safety probe at Torrance ExxonMobil refinery
A “significant incident” at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015, resulted in the release of a small amount of extremely toxic hydrofluoric acid, raising renewed fears of safety at a plant already reeling from more than $500,000 in fines and facing multiple violations for flouting state safety laws. (Scott Varley / Staff Photographer) By Nick Green, Daily Breeze
Posted: SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
State safety regulators are investigating a leak of potentially deadly modified hydrofluoric acid this week at the Torrance ExxonMobil refinery, the latest dangerous accident at the aging plant to raise questions over its ability to operate safely in a densely populated area.
Sunday’s “significant incident,” as the Torrance Fire Department called it, comes in the wake of the February explosion that Cal/OSHA said was caused by ExxonMobil’s “willful” failure to repair a piece of equipment for almost a decade even though the company was aware it could cause a life-threatening explosion.
The state issued 19 safety violations and fines in excess of $565,000 in the wake of the blast. ExxonMobil is appealing.
Cal/OSHA confirmed Thursday that its investigators were once again probing another accident at the plant. The agency declined further comment.
The leak occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning from a 3-inch nozzle as a truck containing hydrofluoric acid unloaded its contents into a vessel at the plant, according to a Fire Department report.
During the operation, “a small leak” was discovered at a rate of 10 drops per minute.
That may not sound like much, but in June 1989 a single drop of hydrofluoric acid hit a worker in the face, causing a deep burn that resulted in hospitalization.
Moreover, Torrance Fire Department officials could not say earlier in the week how long the vessel had leaked or how much acid was released, saying via email that it was under investigation. A report that could identify whether the accidental release was human error or equipment failure is due Friday.
The leak was fixed by 6 p.m. Sunday, Assistant Fire Chief Martin Serna said. That means the acid leaked for at least 15 hours.
City officials downplayed the incident.
“It was handled and resolved very quickly,” City Manager LeRoy Jackson said. “In those situations there are safety steps in place.”
Firefighters depressurized the vessel where the nozzle was leaking and sprayed it with water as a precaution. Water is used to neutralize and contain the deadly vapor that results when hydrofluoric acid is released into the air.
Those measures resulted in a reading of zero parts per million of hydrofluoric acid 2 feet from the leaking vessel, the Fire Department report said.
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Still, in a worst-case scenario at the refinery, about 5,200 pounds of the toxic vapor could be released, according to published reports. That could spread 3.2 miles and imperil more than a quarter of a million people.
ExxonMobil noted Sunday’s leak was insignificant from a safety standpoint.
“The amount of material leaked was significantly below quantities required to be reported to regulatory agencies,” spokeswoman Gesuina Paras said via email. “However, as a matter of practice, ExxonMobil notified the Torrance Fire Department and South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“There was no impact to people, the environment or the community,” she added. “We are reviewing the incident, and all findings will be incorporated in our continuing effort to improve our safety performance.”
In contrast, Jim Tarr, president of Rolling Hills Estates-based Stone Lions Environmental Corp., who has almost four decades of experience evaluating toxic chemical and air pollution exposure, said the release should be a wake-up call.
“Assuming that the facts related in the report are true and correct, it appears to be a relatively minor incident in terms of the amount released,” he said. “But it does provide a red flag for everybody who sees hopefully that this is a situation that can turn into a very serious matter with respect to off-site community exposure.
“The use of modified hydrofluoric acid at the ExxonMobil refinery needs to be discontinued as soon as possible,” Tarr added. “Everybody needs to understand these hydrofluoric acid releases can occur without notice and the next one may be much more substantial than this one.”
In April 1999, three workers required hospital treatment after a broken pipeline spilled isobutane and trace amounts of modified hydrogen fluoride, shutting down Crenshaw Boulevard for more than two hours. It was the first release of the vapor in modified form since the refinery began using it — instead of a more hazardous form — in 1997 after months of controversy.
But experts have questioned how much safer the modified form is in reality, while community members are becoming increasingly alarmed at the repeated safety lapses at the refinery.
February’s explosion literally rocked the community with force equivalent to a magnitude-1.7 earthquake that showered neighborhoods with debris.
But despite that embarrassing incident, ExxonMobil is seeking to ramp up gasoline production at the plant.
The company wants permission from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to violate air quality standards so it can use a piece of outdated pollution-control equipment to resume its gasoline refining process. The meeting will be at 9 a.m. Thursday in Diamond Bar.
Maureen Mauk, a Torrance resident and member of the refinery’s Community Advisory Panel, noted that ExxonMobil did not independently disclose the latest accident to a community now sensitized to the refinery and questioned its oft-repeated commitment to safety
“Given the knowledge of the incredibly dangerous and lethal modified hydrofluoric acid leak that took place at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery over the weekend and the refinery’s lack of transparency, communication and protocol following this significant event, it is obvious that now is not the time to begin allowing the corporation to begin ramping up production,” she said via email.
“I hope that, despite ExxonMobil’s enormous financial power bearing down on our town’s leadership ... we can pursue the highest standards on air quality and safety, even if it means more down time before the refinery can be fully functional.
“Our health, our air quality, and our quality of life as South Bay residents far outweighs this corporation’s time line to make money sooner versus later.”