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Home » Business » This Article

Acid leak at Torrance ExxonMobil refinery being probed

Posted by Debbie L. Sklar on September 11, 2015 in Business | Leave a response
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Damage to the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance from an explosion is seen from 190th Street. Photo by John Schreiber.
Damage to the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance from an explosion is seen from 190th Street. Photo by John Schreiber.

State safety regulators are investigating a leak of potentially deadly modified hydrofluoric acid at the Torrance ExxonMobil refinery this week in the latest accident at the aging plant to raise questions about the company’s ability to operate safely in a densely populated area.

Sunday’s leak was a “significant incident,” the Torrance Fire Department said.

It followed a explosion in February 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 Daily Breeze reported.

The state issued 19 safety violations and fines in excess of $565,000 following the blast. ExxonMobil is appealing.

Cal/OSHA has confirmed that its investigators are probing another accident at the plant but declined further comment, according to The Breeze.

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 cited by the newspaper. During the operation, “a small leak” was discovered at a rate of 10 drops per minute.

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, The Breeze reported.

City officials downplayed the incident, according to The Breeze.

“It was handled and resolved very quickly,” the newspaper quoted City Manager LeRoy Jackson as saying. “In those situations there are safety steps in place.”

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—City News Service

Acid leak at Torrance ExxonMobil refinery being probed was last modified: September 11th, 2015 by Debbie L. Sklar

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Posted in Business | Tagged Acid, chemical leak, ExxonMobil refinery, investigation, Torrance Fire

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