OSHA Expected to Cite Mobil for Safety Violations

Federal investigators who have just completed an intensive 6-week safety inspection of Mobil’s troubled Torrance refinery intend to cite the oil company for “a significant number” of safety violations next week, a source said Thursday.

The inspection, which began Sept. 13, was triggered by two unrelated incidents on the same day--an explosion and a fire on July 15--that killed a worker and seriously injured four others. The double disaster came after an 18-month series of incidents that included three deaths as well as explosions, fires, toxic releases and air pollution.

Leslie W. Michael, district director of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, confirmed Thursday that his office will issue citations against Mobil, possibly as early as Monday.

But Michael added that until the citations are issued, he is barred from discussing their number as well as precise details of the allegations, how serious they are, how much Mobil will be fined and what deadlines will be set for changing conditions judged unsafe by the agency.

A source close to the investigation, however, said Mobil will be hit with “a significant number” of violations of OSHA regulations.

Firm Told About Problems

The oil company was informed at a conference last Friday about the safety problems that will be the basis of the citations, Michael said.

Mobil refinery manager Wyman Robb said he will not discuss what OSHA told refinery officials at the meeting until citations are issued. “Until these things are signed and given to me, I’m not going to know exactly what they are,” he said.

Mobil may choose to appeal the citations, as it has in a case alleging that Mobil employees caused an explosion and the release of 100 pounds of highly toxic hydrofluoric acid last November by putting the wrong size valves on a tank. Mobil asserts in that case that faulty instrumentation was the cause of the explosion.

Company officials met with Torrance city officials last week and said they consider some of the expected violations to be minor, according to Kathy Keane, assistant to the Torrance city manager.

As an example, she said, one Mobil official cited OSHA concern that some three-pronged plugs, which are typically used to prevent a buildup of static electricity, were broken.

Interest in the inspection’s results is high.

“Everybody is concerned about it,” said Richard D. Couch, assistant business manager for Local 250 of the steamfitters and pipefitters union.

Several Inquiries

The federal safety inspection is one of several ongoing examinations of conditions at Mobil.

Torrance is conducting its own assessment of safety at the refinery through an $88,000 study that Mobil is paying for. Although City Council members in the past have expressed impatience at the pace of this study, Torrance Building and Safety Director Ralph Grippo said recently that Mobil officials are making every effort to expedite the investigation.

In accord with a new state law intended to improve disaster planning, the Torrance Fire Department also has ordered Mobil to prepare a risk management and prevention program. The program involves using computers to figure out the impact of various potential disasters and analyze their likelihood.

Robb told Torrance officials that the work of the consultants who are preparing it for Mobil is “extensive and expensive.” The report is expected in March.

In the meeting with Torrance officials, Mobil also reported that it is working on improving the safety of contract employees at the refinery--those working for other companies on construction and other refinery projects.

That effort has included distribution of a safety handbook and monitoring of contract employees by Mobil employees. In addition, Mobil has created a task force, representing several refinery departments, that meets twice a week to work on safety.

Special Task Force

In the aftermath of the November explosion and hydrofluoric acid release, the South Coast Air Quality Management District also created a special task force.

That panel, which is considering whether to eliminate the use of the acid at Mobil and three other refineries, is about halfway through its work and expects to make recommendations next year. Hydrofluoric acid is used to raise the octane of unleaded gasoline.

In addition to the investigations, the explosion last November remains the subject of litigation between OSHA and Mobil.

OSHA cited Mobil for five “serious” safety violations related to the accident and sought the maximum $5,000 fine. (OSHA defines a serious violation as one “where there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and where the employer knew, or could have known, of the hazard.”)

Paid $4,000 in Fines

Mobil accepted four of the five citations, including charges that it failed to have adequate firefighting equipment on hand, that it failed to protect employees from toxic substances, that its alarms and controllers malfunctioned and that employees were exposed to a ruptured potassium hydroxide tanks. The company paid fines of $4,000.

But the oil company is contesting the citation involving the size of the relief valves on the tank that exploded. The dispute remains pending before an administrative law judge.