Vapor cloud from Exxon refinery in
California triggers alarm
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[October 24, 2015]
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The unexplained
release of a large vapor cloud on Friday from an Exxon Mobil Corp
refinery near Los Angeles prompted authorities to sound public safety
sirens, but no toxic fumes were detected and no one was hurt, a fire
official said.
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The mishap was reported around sunset in Torrance, California, at
a refinery that had been largely shut down since an explosion and
fire at a processing unit on Feb. 18 injured four workers and
destroyed emissions-controlling equipment.
That blast led state regulators to cite the company for 19
occupational safety violations at the 149,500-barrel-per-day
refinery, with $566,600 in penalties.
A plan to restart the refinery last month was indefinitely postponed
after a Sept. 6 leak of highly toxic hydroflouric acid.
As a precaution on Friday, city officials sounded sirens warning
area residents to remain indoors with windows and doors closed, and
traffic barriers were lowered over a street that runs along the
refinery's eastern edge, Torrance Fire Department Captain Bob Millea
said.
But all-clear chimes were sounded within a half-hour of the first
alarm from the incident, Millea told Reuters.
He said the vapor appeared to be a large steam cloud that rose 150
to 200 feet in the air and drifted eastward from the refinery before
dissipating.
According to Millea, there were no reports of unusual odors, and
air-quality sampling afterward found no toxic chemicals present
outside the plant.
No one was reported to have been injured or sickened, or to have
sought medical treatment, he added.
While the vapor came from inside the plant, its precise origin and
cause was under investigation, Millea said.
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Company spokesman Todd Spitler said an "upset" in a refinery unit
triggered the release, which was "primarily composed of steam" and
there was no danger to public health. The Los Angeles City News
Service reported the vapor escaped from a leak in an 8-inch line.
The company announced last month that it had reached an agreement to
sell the Torrance plant and associated facilities, which employ some
1,400 staff and contractors, to New Jersey-based PBF Energy for
$537.5 million plus working capital.
The refinery is expected to be back to full production by the time
the transaction closes in 2016.
The refinery had furnished about 10 percent of California's gasoline
supply and its outage helped push Los Angeles-area pump prices to
over $4 a gallon in July.
(This story has been refiled to fix typo in paragraph 2)
(Additional reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston; editing by Jason
Neely)
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