A Feb. 18, 2015, blast at an ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, Calif., was sparked by a chain of process safety management problems, including deviations from existing procedures, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said during a Jan. 13 news conference.
Two ExxonMobil workers were injured in an explosion in the refinery’s electrostatic precipitator, a piece of equipment that controls air pollution.
Hydrocarbons had accumulated inside the equipment over a period of several days, leading to a blast that spread catalyst dust as far as a mile away, CSB chief Vanessa Sutherland told reporters.
The investigation is still ongoing ...
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