Mobil Explosion

The Times deserves full credit for its detailed and clear article (Feb. 11) on the cause of the explosion at Mobil’s Torrance refinery on Nov. 24, 1987. My only complaint is that the article classifies this cause as “human error” when it is, as the article makes quite clear, managerial and corporate error.

This is not a case of a careless or poorly trained employee turning the wrong valve, but rather the refinery management’s indifference to malfunctioning warning devices and equipment. The extent to which this indifference may reflect Mobil’s corporate policy is not clear from the article. The city of Torrance has every right to demand a higher standard of performance from Mobil.

HENRY I. ABRASH, Northridge