Editorial: How can anyone trust ExxonMobil after the Torrance refinery explosion?
Aerial view of Exxon/Mobil refinery in Torrance following an explosion and fire
on Feb. 28, 2015. (Daily Breeze file photo) How can the public trust ExxonMobil after the Torrance refinery exploded?
It seems at nearly every turn since the blast shook the community more than six months ago, the oil giant has tried to duck public scrutiny, leaving residents wondering about their own safety. Last week, the public found out that state regulators were investigating a potential leak of deadly hydroflouric acid at the refinery.
Now it turns out that ExxonMobil has blown off subpoenas from federal investigators at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board looking into the February blast in Torrance.
Attorneys for the corporation call the requests “overbroad, unduly burdensome and not reasonably related to the CSB’s investigation.”
In a letter slamming the corporation, Congress members Ted Lieu and Maxine Waters put it this way: “Given the cause of the explosion, the failure of Torrance refinery’s process safety management and CSB’s belief that the subpoenaed information is highly relevant to its root cause investigation, we find ExxonMobil’s position highly untenable.
“While we appreciated your company’s initial willingness to work with local and federal authorities immediately following the explosion, we view your recent actions as deeply concerning.”
So do the residents of the South Bay who have lived for years in the shadow of the refinery that doesn’t appear to care enough about them, failing to answer tough questions from officials and the community while having allowed for unsafe conditions at the plant.
It’s a point ExxonMobil might unsurprisingly contest, just as they did when the state’s workplace agency, Cal/OSHA, cited the company for 19 different workplace health and safety violations.
State regulators found the company intentionally failed to comply with safety standards and neglected to rid hazardous conditions at the plant.
Most troubling, Cal/OSHA determined the blast was caused by equipment it knew “had not been working properly for as many as nine years prior to the incident.”
ExxonMobil needs to stop with the arrogance and start showing the same kind of care for people as it does for the bottom line.
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