What Are They Trying to Hide?

Steven Goldsmith, President, Torrance Refinery Action Alliance 

In a little-known regulation established in 2017, refineries that use hydrofluoric acid (HF), an exceptionally dangerous chemical that can cause mass casualties in a few minutes, “are required to conduct a Hierarchy of Hazard Control Analysis or HCA of their units on a repeating 5-year cycle. A Hazard Control Analysis requires the refinery to enumerate the hazards of each process, and, to assess whether higher order safety measures are feasible”; [like using a vastly safer chemical], – a letter from Torrance Refinery-PBF to TRAA, 2018.

The Torrance Refinery Action Alliance or TRAA is a community organization working since the Torrance explosion of 2015 to prevent a catastrophic release of HF from the only two refineries in California that use it: Valero in Wilmington and PBF Energy in Torrance. In 2018, TRAA met with the Torrance refinery managers. They promised to comply with that regulation and keep in communication. The first 5-year cycle ended October 2022 and somebody has been playing “hide the football”; ever since.

First TRAA asked the Governor’s Interagency Refinery Task Force on safety to provide the HCA. They said oh! “That’s submitted to the CUPA [Certified Unified Program Agencies].” It’s a body of agencies responsible for local emergency preparedness. Torrance Fire Chief David Dumais, head of the CUPA said “You have to file a public document request.” What was he hiding?

Then we were referred to the Office of Emergency Services (OES, the governor again). So we filed a Public Document Request or PDR with the OES. “Sorry, you should contact the Cal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).” Huh? The LA County Law Library says that if you ask an agency that can get the document, then they’re supposed to provide it. Clearly the governor’s office has the power to do that. But hide the football goes on. 

Then TRAA filed a PDR with the Cal EPA and also with the Department of Toxic Substance Control and a person at DTSC told us “Well, the refineries just have to tell the CUPA that they’ve done the analysis but they don’t actually have to give them the document. They keep that.”; Huh? Alice in Wonderland meets the Jack of Diamonds! So then we sent a PDR to Fire Chief Dumais and the Cal EPA online and by certified mail: no document, no email, no call, just SILENCE. Nine months and counting!

Why do resident volunteers have to go through all these hoops to get a report on options to make HF/MHF refineries safer? Shouldn’t that be public?

Why Does TRAA Want This Document? 

Firstly, it might confirm in the refinery’s own words how dangerous HF/MHF is (which we all pretty much know) and how the specific details related to the six main commercially available safer alternatives could be implemented at these refineries. Can we dream?

One refinery says its fuel is special and so they can’t use it. Will they actually put that on paper? The other refinery says that there isn’t enough space. Would this analysis give specifics? The public regulators and elected officials could learn a lot. The other big reason we need this document is to show the U.S. EPA. Currently, they are considering revising a rule that could require conversion from HF to a safer alternative. The U.S. EPA has discussed basing their rule on the California model.

TRAA wants to show them how completely inadequate the California model is in getting rid of a chemical (HF/MHF) that can cause mass casualties. The new rule should include: a third party review to see if the alternatives analysis is accurate. If there are safer alternatives, conversion would be required. HF is used in 41 refineries out of 150 in the U.S. Refineries are vulnerable to accidents, natural disasters and terrorist attacks and there are six major safer alternative processes that are commercially available. Because the U.S. EPA is close to announcing the final rule we want to show them that the California process will provide little progress towards that goal.

This is why on Tuesday evening, June 20, TRAA is going to Torrance City Council to ask the council to direct the fire chief (he is in charge of the county body responsible for these two reports) to release to the public the Hazardous Chemical Analysis (HCA) for the use of HF at the Torrance and Wilmington refineries. 

If you think they should stop hiding this from the public, come to Torrance City Hall at 6 p.m., June 20 and speak up. If you are coming June 20, have questions or want to get regular updates: info@TRAA.website