Subject: Torrance Refinery: Study of Alternatives to Use of HF for Alkylation & 9/19 Meeting
Date: September 18, 2016 at 5:43:45 PM EDTThe South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in California commissioned Norton Engineering to provide a study on commercial alternatives to the use of hydrofluoric acid in refinery alkylation. The study (see http://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/permitting/alkylation-technology-study-final-report.pdf) was released in advance of a meeting Monday 9/19/16 in Torrance to discuss it with interested parties. For additional background, see http://www.dailybreeze.com/government-and-politics/20160917/ridding-torrance-refinery-of-toxic-acid-would-be-costly-study-finds.
Since the early 2015 explosion of equipment at the Torrance Refinery, when some of the debris landed near storage equipment for the refinery's modified hydrofluoric acid, community activists have been pressing regulators to eliminate the use of HF at the two refineries under the jurisdiction of SCAQMD, particularly Torrance. The Chemical Safety Board has an active investigation of the incident, which has been somewhat stymied by the resistance of ExxonMobil to release information - they contend that the debris landing near the modified HF storage did not constitute a "near miss". The Department of Justice has been requested by the CSB to enforce their request for documents. The status of this investigation will be updated at the regular CSB meeting which will take place on 9/21/16 at 1:00 PM EST (see https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/08/29/2016-20867/sunshine-act-meeting). An additional wrinkle to this saga is that ExxonMobil recently sold the Torrance Refin!
ery to PBF Energy.
Richard Rosera
Rosearray EHS Services LLC
richardrosera**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com
908-279-4463
---
This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.
For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post
