Torrance Refinery Reports Unplanned Flaring

TORRANCE, CA — Reports of flaring at the Torrance Refinery Thursday morning sparked concern among the South Bay community.

According to Refinery officials, there was a short duration of unplanned flaring before 8 a.m. but no off-site impact was observed in the community. Standard protocol requires the refinery to notify the Torrance Fire Department and officials also notified the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

"Flares are an essential component of a refinery’s engineered safety systems designed to safely combust excess gases," Communications Advisor Abena Williams told Patch.

Flaring at the refinery is typically associated with the equipment and process unit startup, shutdown, maintenance and essential operational needs, Williams said.

According to the Refinery's website, unexpected events that cause operating equipment to shut down can lead to flaring. When operations are interrupted, the refinery experiences a build-up of gases in its pipelines that increases pressure inside them.

"The pressure must be safely relieved through approved safety devices that are connected into

the flare system. The flare prevents releasing unprocessed, flammable material directly into the environment," according to the website.