CSB: Multiple safety deficiencies led to 2015 explosion at ExxonMobil Refinery
An ongoing investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) of the February 18, 2015, explosion at the ExxonMobil Refinery in Torrance, California, has uncovered multiple process safety management deficiencies that led to the accident and a serious near miss.
At ExxonMobil, two workers were injured when an explosion occurred in the refinery’s electrostatic precipitator, or ESP, which is a piece equipment used to control air pollution. Due to a series of events that unfolded over several days, hydrocarbons accumulated inside the ESP. The result was a blast that dispersed large quantities of catalyst dust up to a mile away from the facility.