The U.S. Chemical Safety Board says the Feb. 18, 2015, explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, CA, was caused by “multiple process safety management deficiencies.” The CSB also contends the situation easily could’ve been much worse.
Two workers were injured when an explosion occurred in the refinery’s electrostatic precipitator (ESP), a piece of equipment used to control air pollution.
The investigation is ongoing, but the CSB has provided a progress report as the first anniversary of the incident approaches. The CSB says ExxonMobil determined it needed to deviate from several existing procedures to bring an idled piece of equipment back on line.