Join us on Feb 7th

CLICK HERE to RSVP to the 11th annual TRAA Rally via the Mobilize link

TRAA 11th Anniversary flyer – pdfDownload

CLICK HERE to RSVP to the 11th annual TRAA Rally via the Mobilize link

  • Nearly 300 residents march in protest to the PBF Energy refinery in Torrance on Saturday, Feb 17, 2018. It has been three years since the refinery explosion rocked the neighborhood and now residents are calling for a ban on the use of hydrofluoric acid at the refinery. (Photo by Scott Varley, Contributor)
  • Copy of the letter to Governor Gavin Newsom being delivered to the Torrance Refining Company at 8:50.a.m. on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, the precise time of the the 5th Anniversary of the February 18, 2015 Torrance Refinery Explosion.
  • An image of a ground-hugging cloud of HF.
  • Video: The community wants MHF phased out.
  • Teachers for a ban on MHF.
  • Public Comment regarding MHF.
  • A close call: The 2015 Torrance Refinery explosion.
  • Zachary Badaouie speaks at the 9th annual TRAA rally.
  • Congresswoman Maxine Waters speaks at the 9th annual TRAA rally.

The Danger of HF/”M”HF

Among the world’s most dangerous industrial chemicals, hydrogen fluoride (HF) is used in massive quantities in only two of California’s 15 refineries: the Torrance Refining Company (ToRC) and Valero in Wilmington — both located in the densely populated South Bay region of Southern California. In a major accidental release, as shown in an alarming video of the 1987 “Goldfish” test in the Nevada desert, HF can form a ground-hugging aerosol cloud that can drift for miles, causing irreversible injury and death. 

Are YOU At Risk?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (ERPGs) to assess worst-case scenarios. Residents inside the black circles below are at risk of serious and irreversible health effects (ERPG-⁠2). Those inside the red circles are at risk of life-threatening health effects (ERPG-⁠3). Those downwind of an HF release are exposed. Many in the highly dangerous regions close to the refineries rank high for Environmental Justice burden. 

ToRC - Valero EPA WCS
These ERPG 2 & 3 Worst Case Scenario (WCS) circles for Torrance Refining (left) and Valero (right) were calculated with NOAA’s air-hazard modeling program ALOHA for HF release from single alkylation settler tanks, according to the guidelines of the EPA’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) instructions for Offsite Consequence Analysis. The quantities of HF in the tanks (6,000 gallons for Torrance Refining & 7,000 gallons for Valero) are from a briefing [page 2] by the SCAQMD Staff, which had purview into the refineries’ proprietary data. The two refineries store far more HF on site (25,000 gallons at Torrance Refining & 55,000 gallons at Valero), which is of great concern. But it is in the settler tanks where the HF is sufficiently superheated to form the particularly dangerous ground-hugging aerosol cloud when released. The computed distances from the refineries to the ERPG 2 & 3 toxic endpoints are 5.3 & 3.5 miles for Torrance Refining and 5.6 & 3.7 miles for Valero, respectively. (Click map image to view full size in a new tab.)