User:Giavannea/sandbox/Torrance Refinery

Torrance Refinery

The Torrance refinery is located on a 750-acre site in Torrance, California. The refinery receives it crude oil primarily through a direct pipeline connection to California central valley and also has access to waterborne feedstocks through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The refinery produces approximately 1.8 billion gallons of gasoline per year. In addition to blending three grades of gasoline, Torrance produces diesel fuel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs), coke and sulfur. The refinery ships products to customers via a series of proprietary pipelines and terminals throughout the region via truck, rail, barges, and ships.

The refinery is owned by the New Jersey oil refinery company PBF Energy. PBF bought the refinery from Exxon Mobil in 2016 in a $537.5-million deal. Mobil Oil had acquired the facility in 1966.

Health and Safety VIolations

 * February 18, 2015: A blast registering as a 1.7 on the Richter scale tore through the refinery, sending clouds of toxic smoke and ash raining down on nearby . The blast injured four workers and resulted in 19 citations for workplace safety and health violations. And it could have been worse — the blast came close to releasing hydrofluoric acid, a highly toxic chemical that can form a cloud of gas that can drift for miles, causing injury and death. With more than200,000 people living within 3 miles of the plant, California got lucky.
 * September 11, 2015: A “significant incident” resulted in a leak of deadly gas from the refinery, but caused no known deaths.
 * March 16, 2016: A power outage triggered two “fireballs” that were visible for miles and shut down neighboring roads. The cause of the power fluctuation was a metallic balloon that caused a power outage.
 * October 2, 2016: An unplanned flaring event shut down neighboring streets for four hours.
 * October 11, 2017: A power outage in Torrance lead to neighbors needing to stay in their homes.When power to the refinery is cut, it shuts down and flaring occurs to burn off any product and relieve pressure to ensure gases are safely combusted. People were asked to stay in their homes, as the burn off safety procedure sent black smoke into the air.