Fire Shuts Down New Mobil Pollution Unit

A new $200-million pollution control unit at the Mobil Oil refinery in Torrance was shut down Friday after a hydrogen leak caused a small fire that was quickly extinguished.

Torrance Fire Chief Scott Adams said there were no injuries in the blaze, which he described as “not a very large magnitude fire” when compared to a major explosion at the refinery in November, 1987, and a series of other fires last year.

Adams said the Friday afternoon fire began after “some kind of adjustment” was made to a one-inch-diameter pipe on top of the refinery’s new hydrotreater unit. He said either a leak or failure of a valve released hydrogen, which caught fire.

Greg Munakata, Mobil’s environmental and safety manager, said refinery employees had taken pressure readings shortly before the leak occurred. He said the cause of the problem was not immediately known.

The hydrotreater unit, designed to control sulfur emissions, was placed in operation for the first time several weeks ago. “We’ve got to go in and take a closer look and assess whether there is any damage,” Munakata said.