Two more SoCal refineries are ‘potential ticking time bombs,’ new lawsuit claims

The Torrance Refinery Action Alliance (TRAA) sued two Southern California refineries this month in the wake of the Garden Grove chemical leak that forced nearly 50,000 residents to evacuate.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Torrance and Wilmington refineries, seeks safety records under the California Public Records Act.

“Garden Grove … is not the only city in Southern California harboring a potential ticking time bomb when it comes to a mass casualty event arising from a toxic industrial chemical tank,” TRAA said in a statement.

TRAA noted the two facilities are the only refineries in California that use hydrogen fluoride (HF/MHF) to produce high-octane gasoline, warning that both the transportation and storage of the highly toxic chemical pose an ongoing threat to nearby communities.

The California Public Records Act requires government records to be “disclosed to the public, upon request, unless there are privacy and/or public safety exemptions which would prevent doing so.”

The Torrance refinery has had a history of bad accidents. In 2015, an explosion led to four workers being injured while triggering a 1.7 magnitude earthquake in the surrounding areas. A 40-ton piece of debris was also blasted and landed just five feet away from a tank containing thousands of pounds of modified hydrofluoric acid (corrosive liquid that dissolves glass and burns skin).

In 1979, an explosion resulted in three deaths and forced neighborhood evacuations.

Following the chemical leak in Garden Grove in May, Southern California residents have been on high alert, leading to growing demands for stricter and safer measures at local refineries and plants.

The Post reached out to the refineries but did not hear back.

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