South Bay Cities Rally Against Torrance Refinery

HERMOSA BEACH, CA -- Leaders from Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach all expressed their opposition to the Torrance Refinery's use of hydrofluoric acid. The Beach Reporter said a letter will be sent to Southcoast Air Quality Management District with the support of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

"All three beach cities want the hydrofluoric acid eliminated from the refinery," the Beach Reporter said. "PBF Energy purchased the '155,000 barrel-per-day' refinery from ExxonMobil following a February 2015 explosion that opponents believe could have potentially led to a catastrophic release of the acid."

The vote from each City Council comes after refinery employees spoke about the safety the chemical. However, many residents also came out in full-force, asking leaders to ban the use of hydrofluoric acid.

The 2015 explosion at the refinery was caused by a series of "gaps" in safety systems, along with violations of the company's own safety standards, according to a report by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.

The report also confirmed that the explosion nearly resulted in the rupture of a tank storing thousands of pounds of toxic hydroflouric acid. Officials with ExxonMobil, however, disputed that there was ever a threat of a hydroflouric acid release "or risk of harm to the community."

Read the Beach Reporter's story here.

--City News Service contributed to this report/Photo courtesy of PBF Energy