Tosco Calif. Oil Refinery Catches Fire

April 25, 2001
Tosco Corp. announced that due to a fire late yesterday, a portion\r\nof its Los Angeles Refinery was shutdown. There were no\r\ninjuries associated with the fire.

Tosco Corp. announced that due to a fire late yesterday, a portion of its Los Angeles Refinery (LAR) was shutdown. There were no injuries associated with the fire.

Tosco''s LAR Refinery system is comprised of two locations, Carson and nearby Wilmington plant, which act as one refining system.

The coker processing unit at Carson has been shutdown.

The fire sent plumes of thick black smoke billowing over three cities, and was extinguished by firefighters after three hours.

The company said its industrial hygienists and South Coast Air Quality Management District have been conducting air monitoring in and around the refinery.

Initial monitoring did not detect anything that posed a health risk to the surrounding community, according to Tosco.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and the extent of the damage and time to repair is presently unknown.

Tosco paid $25 million last year to resolve lawsuits from a blast that killed four workers at its Avon refinery in the San Francisco area in February 1999.

The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) recently released its final report on the fire saying that it could have been prevented by better management supervision of safety.

CSB is an independent federal agency who investigates the causes of chemical incidents.

In its report, CSB recommended that Tosco Corp. improve its safety auditing procedures and ensure that its seven other refineries do not have the safety deficiencies that were found at Avon.

Tosco is the largest independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products in the United States, and is the nation''s largest operator of company controlled convenience stores.

by Virginia Sutcliffe

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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