TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) – A blast at a California refinery could have been much worse if debris from the explosion had pierced a nearby tank holding tens of thousands of pounds of a toxic acid, according to an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents.
Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board are expected to discuss that near-hit and other safety issues on Wednesday as they present a report on the Feb. 18, 2015 blast that injured four contractors and coated neighboring homes and cars with white ash.
ExxonMobil sold the refinery to New Jersey-based PBF Energy Inc. in September, but continued repairs have delayed the deal.
California workplace regulators issued $566,000 in fines last summer for health and safety violations related to the blast. The plant is located in a densely populated area of the city of Torrance, about 20 miles southwest of Los Angeles.
A state investigation by the California Occupational Health and Safety Administration – also known as Cal OHSA – blamed the blast on a vapor that leaked from a fluid catalytic cracker unit into an electrostatic precipitator.