Here’s why Southern California oil refineries will soon be required to closely monitor air quality
The regional air-pollution watchdog will accept public comments for the next week on a series of proposed plans to monitor emissions at four South Bay refineries — including the Torrance Refinery — which the agency wants to implement by this time next year.
The deadline to comment on the four proposals is 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21.
The state and the South Coast Air Quality Management District are mandating the installation of new real-time fence-line air-monitoring systems at the South Bay’s seven refineries. Those systems will analyze pollutant concentrations that can be compared with air-quality standards and provide better — and easier-to-understand — information on the health effects of such pollutants.
That data will go up on websites, displayed “in a transparent, clear, understandable and contextual manner,” according to the draft plan for the Torrance refinery, written by its owner, Torrance Refining Company LLC, a subsidiary of PBF Energy.
“The Torrance Refinery’s goal,” the executive summary says, “is to provide the public with monitoring results in a manner that provides meaningful information to help understand the refinery’s contribution to air quality in nearby communities.
“This will provide useful information to nearby communities,” it continues, “especially the most sensitive community members, for understanding day-to-day air quality.”
Three other refineries – Chevron in El Segundo, and Phillips 66 in Carson and Wilmington – have submitted draft plans. The Valero Wilmington refinery and Tesoro’s twin plants in Carson and Wilmington have yet to do so.
The lengthy, detailed, highly technical draft plans are available on a dedicated page of the AQMD.gov website. Before any of the plans can go into effect, the Air Quality Management District’s executive officer has to approve them.
The Torrance Refinery plan calls for monitoring pollutant concentrations that have the potential to move off-site, including modified hydrofluoric acid, along about 85 percent of its 4.3-mile-long perimeter fence.
Modified hydrofluoric acid has been the subject of public debate since an explosion in February 2015, when the refinery was owned by ExxonMobil, and a subsequent report by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board that said the blast almost led to a catastrophic release of the toxin, spurring activists to call for a ban on its use. Refinery officials say MHF contains an additive, which along with other recently enhanced safety measures, reduces the risk of the material.
After a series of hearings, AQMD officials in September set a May deadline for the industry to produce additional safety information about the substance. It is also used at the Valero refinery in Wilmington.
Currently, no refinery in the region has fence-line monitors analyzing pollutants.
But the Air Quality Management District has almost 40 monitoring stations scattered throughout Southern California. The two stations closest to the South Bay are near Los Angeles International Airport and in Long Beach.
Excessive flaring, in which tall columns of smoke shoot up from refineries, are increasingly a public health concern for those living near refineries or with health issues exacerbated by pollution. Regulators are increasingly trying to crack down on flaring and come up with ways to more closely monitor air quality.
The Air Quality Management District will schedule at least two public meetings – one held before the monitoring system goes live and another afterwards – to provide detailed information about the system, website and how local residents will be notified if refineries exceed their pollution thresholds.