D.A. Confirms Inquiry at Torrance Mobil Plant : Preliminary Investigation Focuses on Possible Violations of Air Quality Laws

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office confirmed Friday that it has opened a preliminary investigation into possible criminal violations of air quality laws by Mobil Oil Corp. at its Torrance refinery.

Word of the inquiry was announced at a City Hall press conference by Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude, who said the district attorney is “vigorously” examining the case.

Barry Groveman, special assistant to Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner and head of the office’s environmental crimes division, said later: “All I can say is that we are looking into the matter. But it is really inappropriate to go any further than that at this point.”

The South Coast Air Quality Management District staff has charged that Mobil intentionally violated air quality rules for six months to a year and concealed critical information that would have tipped authorities to problems with a major pollution-control system, known as an electrostatic precipitator.

‘Could Go Either Way’

Groveman said that a decision to prosecute “could go either way.” If criminal charges are filed, Mobil managers could face six-month jail sentences if convicted. Groveman said he could not say when a decision on whether to prosecute would be made.

Mobil spokesman James Carbonetti said that the oil company had heard previously of the district attorney’s interest in the case. “It’s regretable,” Carbonetti said of the investigation. “I can’t comment on it.”

Meanwhile, an outraged Braude--who sits on the air quality district board--called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to intervene and join the district in imposing “the toughest possible sanctions” against Mobil.

By allegedly choosing to knowingly pollute without repairing air pollution-control equipment, Mobil had taken a “cheap and dirty path,” threatening the health of Torrance residents, Braude said.

Risked $1,000-a-Day Fines

The district said that until Mobil was caught, the oil company continued to produce gasoline and other petroleum products worth $200,000 a day and risked the district’s $1,000-a-day fine rather than make expensive repairs to the precipitator. Those fines could total $365,000 if the district can prove Mobil was in violation of air quality rules for a year.

Carl Kohnert, deputy director of the air management division at the EPA Region 9 headquarters in San Francisco, said that the EPA would not intervene because Mobil has shut down the polluting equipment to make temporary repairs. The oil company also said it will rebuild the unit next October at a cost of $5 million.

Before Mobil’s partial closure of the Torrance plant last week, the district staff said the refinery spewed 1.3 million pounds of excess health-threatening particulates into the atmosphere over a year’s time. Mobil said the excess emissions were less than half that.

Particulates are airborne particles composed of various substances that can bypass the human body’s defenses and lodge deep in the lungs, causing respiratory problems.

Remarks Called ‘Premature’

“Mobil’s executives have decided that profit is more important than responsibility,” Braude said Friday. “In doing so Mobil has broken the law. This attitude represents the worst that American business has to offer.”

Torrance Mayor James Armstrong called Braude’s remarks about health fears “premature” and said he would await the district’s findings, which he noted have been disputed by Mobil. “It’s a little premature to make such a blanket statement to put people in panic,” Armstrong said.

Mobil spokesman Carbonetti declined to respond to Braude’s remarks. But he said that Mobil was “very anxious” to state its case next Tuesday when a district hearing board is scheduled to review the matter.