Mobil, Contractor Appeal Safety Fine : Refineries: Oil company seeks to overturn citation from explosion. Firm that performed work says it had no opportunity to inspect the system.
Mobil Oil Corp. and an independent contractor are appealing citations and fines imposed by the state workplace safety agency Cal/OSHA as a result of its investigation of an October explosion at Mobil’s Torrance refinery.
Voicing disagreement with some of Cal/OSHA’s conclusions, Mobil officials are appealing a citation that says the company failed to inspect refinery equipment before the Oct. 19 explosion and fire that injured 28 workers.
Cal/OSHA said the oversight was willful and levied a $42,500 fine. In all, the agency hit Mobil with nine citations with fines totaling $67,005.
Mobil has decided not to contest eight of the citations and will pay the related fines, spokesman James Carbonetti said Monday. But company officials disagree with the “willful” designation because Mobil’s procedures call for such an inspection, he said. A Mobil employee who did not do an inspection was disciplined and has resigned, he said.
The accident apparently occurred when flammable gases were allowed to flow into a disconnected pipeline and then ignited. It provoked outcry in Torrance over safety practices at the 750-acre refinery in northern Torrance.
As part of its five-month investigation, Cal/OSHA also cited IST Mechanical Corp. and levied a $7,000 fine. The Carson-based contractor failed to follow Mobil procedures for start-up and did not review equipment before removing locks from valves, the agency concluded.
The contractor took issue with the citation in a press release, stating that the IST employee responsible for work in the area “was given no opportunity to inspect the system, clear the area or comply with other safety procedures before Mobil activated its unit.” The locks in question were not removed by IST employees, according to the press release.
The Cal/OSHA appeals board in Sacramento will schedule hearings so that the parties can present their cases, said Cal/OSHA spokesman Rick Rice. If Mobil or IST object to the appeals board’s conclusion, they can file a complaint in Superior Court.
The appeals process can take up to a year to complete, Rice said.
A separate arm of Cal/OSHA conducted its own investigation of the blast, and its findings will be used by the district attorney’s office to decide whether to bring criminal charges.
Meanwhile, Mobil announced Friday that it is cutting 50 jobs in its Mobil West region, with most cuts occurring at the Torrance refinery. The reductions, which involve primarily salaried staff and supervisor positions, were described as a response to the winding down of capital projects and a changing business climate.
No health and safety jobs or community relations jobs are being eliminated, Carbonetti said.
A company statement said: “This work force reduction in no way compromises either Mobil’s commitment or ability to operate in a safe, reliable and environmentally sound manner, nor does it alter the company’s commitment to California and its local communities.”
