South Bay : REFINERY BLAST

Torrance attorneys announced Thursday that the city had filed 15 misdemeanor criminal counts against the Mobil oil refinery as a result of the October, 1994, blast that injured 28 workers and sent flames 40 feet into the air.

Mobil faces up to $460,000 in fines if found guilty on the charges, which include willful failure to follow safety procedures and causing serious injury to six workers.

Investigators concluded that volatile gases had leaked from a disconnected pipe and ignited, sparking the blast in a portion of the facility under construction.

The city action comes less than three months after the district attorney’s office decided it did not have enough evidence to prosecute the refinery on felony charges.

Refinery spokeswoman Carolin Keith said Mobil officials are “disturbed” by the Torrance decision.

“We felt the district attorney had very conclusively determined that there was no need to file additional charges,” Keith said. “We regret the accident. It was a very tragic occurrence . . . but we continue to reiterate that there was no willful or knowing violation of any safety standards.”

But Torrance Assistant City Atty. Ron Pohl called the district attorney’s decision “irrelevant” to his case. “The fact that a felony didn’t occur doesn’t say anything about whether a misdemeanor occurred.”

On March 17, the California Occupational Health and Safety Administration issued the refinery nine citations and a $67,000 fine stemming from the blast. Three days later, eight refinery workers and the wife of one filed a $270-million lawsuit against the facility for injuries they claim they suffered.