Sunday’s South Bay Daily Breeze headlined TRAA’s efforts to remove the deadly HF chemical from our local refineries, and the current lawsuits being filed by NRDC/CBE/CAC against the EPA and by TRAA against the cities of Torrance and Los Angeles. Well worth the read.
From Paul Rosenberg’s article in Random Lengths News: After almost two years of stonewalling by the Los Angeles and Torrance fire departments, the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance has filed suit to compel the release of crucial reports on the last two California refineries that still use dangerous hydrofluoric acid in their refining process.
Read the TRAA Press Release and the lawsuits themselves in our Local Initiatives.
(From Wikipedia) The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (USCSB), generally referred to as the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), is an independent U.S. federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The CSB conducts root cause investigations of chemical accidents at fixed industrial facilities
The CSB was authorized by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and became operational in January 1998. According to the Senate legislative history, the board’s main role is to investigate chemical accidents, determine their causes, and help prevent similar incidents. Congress gave the CSB an independent mandate, specifying that no other agency or executive branch official may direct its activities.
(From Truthout) However, the Trump administration has asked Congress to eliminate it – the only independent federal agency that investigates major chemical accidents – while systemically rolling back environmental regulations, including rules designed to protect communities from toxic spills.
But new polling suggests a bipartisan majority of voters are increasingly worried about toxic chemicals and want stronger federal protection from air and water pollution, which can increase health care costs.
A nationwide poll of 2,025 registered voters released on June 3 suggests Trump’s deregulatory agenda is not meeting the expectations of voters after the president promised to deliver the “cleanest air and water on Earth” during his 2024 campaign.
By an 8 to 1 margin, voters across the political spectrum said the EPA should prioritize protecting public health from toxic pollution over reducing regulations — even if it means higher costs. The cost of health care remains a top concern, and 81 percent said the rollback of EPA regulations is shifting the burden of pollution “onto families through medical bills and long-term health consequences.”
“They aren’t buying the idea that rolling back protections makes life more affordable … pollution prevention is part of protecting families from costs they cannot afford,” said John Ray, senior director at YouGov, which conducted the poll, in a call with reporters on June 3.
After the ongoing disaster at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, we have received numerous questions about the chemical tank, and how the chemical used there (methyl methacrylate – MMA) compares with hydrogen fluoride (HF) used at two local refineries.
While both are extremely dangerous, they have differences which I will try to point out.
Similarities:
Both HF and MMA are normally liquids which can form deadly, flammable, ground-hugging vapor clouds when released
Differences:
MMA is an irritant to the eyes and can cause redness and pain. Irritation of the skin, eye, and nasal cavity has been observed in rodents and rabbits exposed to relatively high concentrations of methyl methacrylate. It is also highly flammable. Per Wikipedia, methyl methacrylate is a mild skin irritant in humans and has the potential to induce skin sensitization in susceptible individuals.
The real danger with MMA is in its storage, where – in this case – chemical reactions caused it to experience an increase in temperature. At one point, the tank began bulging, and it got to a point where it does what is called a BLEVE, which is a ‘boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. At the high temperatures it would produce the cloud, and not go out as a liquid. While a crack in the vat seems to have relieved the pressure and temperature build-up, it has not solved the problem of what to do if it leaks out in large quantities.
Currently, officials are concerned with the possibility of massive amounts (7000 gallons) of MMA flowing into the rivers and ocean and overwhelming the treatment plants. There is also still the possibility of an explosion, but not as large as earlier feared.
HF is much more toxic if it gets on the skin or is inhaled. It is about 20 times more toxic, but does not tend to get to a thermal expansion. The real issue with HF is a leak or large-scale release, such as nearly happened at Torrance in 2015. A 40-ton piece of equipment was thrown off a structure and landed within just a few feet of a tank containing a vast amount of HF, That rupture would likely have spread rapidly (far too fast for any evacuation) and killed and injured thousands. Its boiling point (where it forms a gas cloud) is just 66 degrees, and it stored at a much higher temperature and pressure in its tanks. Even a rupture of the pipes leading to the tank could produce a disastrous leak.
In short, both chemicals are hazardous and must be handled with extreme care or replaced altogether.
March 24, 2026, 12:39 AM PDT / Source: The Associated Press via NBC News
A large explosion at an oil refinery near the Texas coast on Monday shot plumes of smoke into the air and forced nearby residents to shelter in place, officials said.
No one was injured in the explosion at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Houston, Mayor Charlotte M. Moses said. She urged residents in parts of the west side of the city to stay put, saying firefighters had arrived.
This is yet another explosion at a refinery which uses massive amounts of HF, the 4th in less than 12 years. If you want to help prevent another disaster, follow the NRDC Lawsuit status to remove the HF threat.
From the Daily Breeze today: The FBI warned some law enforcement agencies in California recently that Iran could launch drones at the West Coast from an offshore boat as a retaliatory attack, according to reporting by ABC News
The Torrance Refinery could be a primary target for such an attack, as it could kill or injure thousands, as well as disrupt operations at both LAX and the local ports.
If such a thing were to occur, an attack at either the Torrance Refinery or that Vallero Refinery could release massive amounts of deadly HF which could kill or injure thousands. That is yet another reason that we must get rid of HF in the local refineries.
As she announced at the recent TRAA Rally, Congresswoman Maxine Waters introduced the “Preventing Mass Casualties from Release of Hydrofluoric Acid at Refineries Act of 2026” (H. R. 7384), with 7 cosponsors including Ted Lieu and Nanette Barragan.
Rep. Waters, whose district includes the Torrance Refinery, has been a long-time supporter of TRAA, and has long fought to make the refinery safer for workers and the community alike.
For details, see this Link.
The Fund would award be given annually to a TRAA person who exemplifies the “passion, inspiration, kindness, humor, and determination to make the world a better place that was embodied by David Poster.” To be announced at the anniversary event or some similar public activity. (the would include a gift certificate for Handel’s Ice Cream! – David’s favorite and why he lived to be nearly 99!)
TRAA thanks the Poster Family for your very generous contribution, and fondly remembers David and his work over the years.
An excellent report from By Jasmine Mendez, LA Times staff writer, about our Teach-in and Rally last Saturday.
From the Los Angeles Times: Residents and advocates gathered Saturday to demand the ban of a chemical that’s used at a Torrance oil refinery and that they say has the potential to cause a mass casualty disaster.
The rally included a talk by County Supervisor Janice Hahn, a long-time supporter, a video from Congressperson Maxine Waters (who announced she is introducing a bill to ban HF/MHF from refineries nationwide), and an announcement of a new David Poster ACTION Memorial Fund to be given annually to a TRAA person who exemplifies the “passion, inspiration, kindness, humor, and determination to make the world a better place that was embodied by David Poster.”
In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show. This means that human lives mean nothing in the Cost/Benefit Analysis.
From the NY Times on Jan 12, 2026. For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency has calculated the health benefits of reducing air pollution, using the cost estimates of avoided asthma attacks and premature deaths to justify clean-air rules.
Not anymore.
It’s a seismic shift that runs counter to the E.P.A.’s mission statement, which says the agency’s core responsibility is to protect human health and the environment, environmental law experts said.
Torrance Refinery Action Alliance 