Torrance residents protest ExxonMobil’s refinery safety record
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 deliberately flouting state
safety laws that could result in life-threatening explosion. File photo, Sept.
11, 2015. (Scott Varley / Staff Photographer)
With Torrance city officials largely silent on
ExxonMobil’s well-publicized refinery safety problems, local grass-roots
opposition is mobilizing to fill the void.
More than two dozen frustrated residents
descended upon Tuesday’s City Council meeting to make their point, monopolizing
much of the first hour of the meeting that usually is given over to ceremonial
matters.
Residents, including at least one member of the
city’s ExxonMobil Community Advisory Panel, expressed concern that the oil giant
appears to be thumbing its nose at regulators, while at the same time seeking
special dispensation to pollute more as it attempts to ramp up gasoline
production.
Protesters also included a recently formed group
called the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance, which is focused on the removal of
thousands of pounds of dangerous hydrofluoric acid used at the refinery.
But many in attendance left unsatisfied at the
tepid response of city officials.
Steve Goldsmith, a resident of Torrance who
lives about a mile west of the refinery, said alliance members were hoping Mayor
Pat Furey would “be our champion” in representing their safety concerns, but
were disappointed to hear otherwise.
“I was very surprised to hear the mayor say they
didn’t have the power to do anything, really,” Goldsmith said. “Why tell the
citizens he has no power? He has more resources than (we) do.”
Furey also told the 10 or so speakers that many
of the assertions they were making were simply wrong, although he didn’t
elaborate.
Still, on Wednesday some were encouraged that
Councilman Tim Goodrich independently penned a letter to Rep. Ted Lieu,
D-Torrance, requesting the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to expand its investigation into the
February refinery explosion to include a Sept. 6 leak of modified HF at the
plant.
A few hours later, Lieu and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, did just that in a
letter of their own, the Daily Breeze has learned.
“CSB’s involvement would complement the
investigation into worker safety conditions already under way by the California
Division of Occupational Safety and help evaluate the refinery’s safety as it
seeks to restore operational capacity,” the letter reads in part. “As part of
your investigation, we request that you evaluate the amount of modified
hydrofluoric acid released, the emergency response by ExxonMobil and first
responders and the overall safety of the modified hydrofluoric acid storage and
processes at the refinery.”
Meanwhile, the South Coast Air Quality District
has suspended indefinitely a hearing that would allow ExxonMobil to resume
large-scale gasoline production at the refinery using an outdated piece of
emission-scrubbing equipment that would violate state air quality standards.
Agency spokesman Sam Atwood declined substantive
comment Wednesday on the hearing the agency already has repeatedly postponed
while it seeks assurances from ExxonMobil that refinery emissions would be as
low as possible.
“Due to ongoing negotiations, the SCAQMD will
not comment at this time on the possible interim operation of ExxonMobil’s
Torrance Refinery,” Atwood said via email. “SCAQMD will inform all interested
parties if and when the matter is placed back on the Hearing Board
calendar.”
Maureen Mauk, a mother of two and member of the
city’s ExxonMobil Community Advisory Panel, expressed frustration at
ExxonMobil’s lack of responsiveness to community concerns.
She noted that in the wake of the February
explosion that shook the city, ExxonMobil opted not to publish its quarterly
community newsletter and now has canceled a CAP meeting scheduled for this
week.
Mauk said she was told the company said its
“effort to restart operations” required “the undivided attention of our entire
team.”
“We have been met with radio silence,” Mauk
complained. “I have stumbled upon an astonishing world of corporate negligence
(and) hydrofluoric acid leaks, and while there’s a presence of concern from all
of you, there is a lack of action over our environmental air quality and
safety.”
In response, the
alliance has collected some 400 signatures for a petition it is circulating to
push for the removal of hydrofluoric acid from California refineries. The
petition also is available on the alliance’s Facebook page.
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