Mechanical Failure Forces Shutdown of Major Refinery Unit

Mechanical problems forced the shutdown of a major unit at Southern California’s largest refinery Saturday morning, spewing yellowish plumes into the air above Carson and sending flames from a stack as emergency teams rushed to monitor air quality in neighborhoods downwind.

No one was injured in the accident at the BP Carson Refinery, which could keep the unit closed for repairs for seven to 10 days, plant and fire officials said.

Although the refinery produces 15% of the gasoline used in Los Angeles County, BP does not expect the accident to increase prices at the pump, said Walter W. Neil, external affairs manager at the BP Carson business unit.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District responded to the accident, and was told by BP that some hydrogen sulfide was also released, said district spokesman Bill Kelly. Hydrogen sulfide can cause nausea and headaches, but no such symptoms were reported.

No toxic releases were detected as firefighters monitored up to three miles downwind from the plant, said Battalion Chief Larry Hambleton of the L.A. County Fire Department, which responded to the accident at 11:26 a.m. An hour later, the yellow-tinted emissions had disappeared.

“By the time our units got there and did a reading, the cloud had already dissipated,” said Art Marrujo, dispatch supervisor.

The refinery is a landmark south of the San Diego Freeway, a sprawling complex of towers, stacks and tanks. It was known as the Arco refinery until BP Amoco bought Arco last year. It produces about 6 million gallons of gasoline a day, Neil said. Saturday marked the first time that Neil could recollect an emergency closing of the fluid catalytic cracking unit, a key unit in refining gasoline.

“It’s very unusual for this to happen,” Neil said.

Other parts of the refinery continue to operate, he said.

The accident occurred after a main air blower shut down because of high vibrations, prompting officials to shut down the cracking unit, Neil said. Such shutdowns can prompt brief chemical releases and flaring from refinery stacks.

As of early Saturday afternoon, officials did not know what caused the vibrations leading to the shutdown. That will be investigated “once we have everything shut down, cooled off,” Neil said.

Oil refineries have been in the spotlight recently because the Bush administration’s energy plan could result in more refinery construction to increase gasoline supplies.

The BP Amoco refinery is only one of a number of oil refineries in southern Los Angeles County, and some have been plagued with accidents in recent years. A pinhole-sized leak in a pipe led to an April fire that darkened skies over the Tosco Corp. refinery in Carson. One worker was killed and another injured in August 1998 at the BP refinery--then owned by Arco--when a tank exploded during maintenance work.

*

Times staff writer Joe Mozingo contributed to this story.