Los Angeles firefighters respond to massive refinery fire

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

Carson, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles County firefighters responded to a large refinery fire that temporarily closed all lanes of the 405 Freeway Tuesday night in the city of Carson.

KTLA-TV reports that massive flames could be seen burning from the Marathon Petroleum Corporation located 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department said the fire sparked about 10:50 p.m. An explosion went off before the fire began burning in a cooling tower at the refinery, the department said.

Personnel from the refinery were keeping the flames in check through “fixed ground monitors” while working to depressurize the system, fire officials said. Authorities secured a perimeter around the refinery and did not anticipate needing to evacuate residents, officials said.



A fire burns after an explosion at the Marathon Refinery in Carson on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (Scott Varley/The Orange County Register via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/cf10c9c3cc33af1751ffe82f67693672

[2naSalit]

1. When I was a

tanker driver, I loaded at that place. It was like a blast through a time warp. Many parts of those facilities are ancient, like from the 1950s and 60s. I hope the residents in that area will be okay... it's all low income of course. Who would live near a refinery if they had the means to live elsewhere?

[iluvtennis]

7. + agree. I grew up not too far from there is South Central LA,my mom still lives there. Glad all is

OK.

[safeinOhio]

2. Look for pump prices to jump in NY now...

That's how it works.

[Magoo48]

3. This brings to forefront Climate Injustice, something we Democrats don't discuss in our debates.

Most of the citizens living closest to this, as well as the vast majority of refineries and chemical plants, are poor, working poor, and working class. They breathe the heaviest concentrations of the rank air pouring out of these places. I’m 71, I remember seeing this same complex and others nearby as a kid. I now live about 35 miles away.

[Zorro]

4. Driving by the refinery at night on the 405 is like a scene out of Blade Runner

[2naSalit]

8. driving down

I think it's 117th in Long Beach past Air Products makes you think you've entered the portal to hell at night. Not much better in the daylight.

[abqtommy]

5. Calling out to everyone, but especially the firefighters, to stay safe!

[MurrayDelph]

6. I didn't realize

It was "refinery fire, let's cut production and raise prices" time of year already.

Seriously, they had one of these almost every year. It's one of the reasons I was hoping the "cheap" Tesla had been more-affordable.

[neohippie]

9. Yep

Gas prices are going down, and two refinery fires in February, that one in Mississippi and now this one too.

[mountain grammy]

10. Very scary. Hope everyone inside is safe..

[hellno45]

11. This is terrible, I hope there wasn't any loss of life. nt

[Crowman2009]

12. There needs to be an investigation as to whether the oil companies deliberately start these fires.

Something smells rotten here!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

13. Trump seeks defunding for the agency that would investigate this incident.

FY 2021 Budget & Appropriations for Chemistry

Link: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/policy/federal-budget-for-science.html#csb

(snip)

Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)
Proposed FY21 Budget: $10 million, slated for elimination

The basics: CSB was created by Congress in 1990 “to investigate accidents to determine the conditions and circumstances which led up to the event and to identify the cause or causes so that similar events might be prevented.” Despite being slated for elimination by the Trump Administration, CSB's independent request for $13.1 million would allow it to continue operation with a 12.8 percent increase over FY20.

The impact on chemistry: Though different from the other agencies covered here, CSB plays a key role in the chemical enterprise. By investigating and widely reporting flaws in the process of chemical production (or in the case of universities, laboratory safety), CSB protects the lives of workers and prevents property damage. This year's request, like FY18, FY19, and Fy20, provides funding only to close down the Board. However, the last three years have seen Congress continue to fund CSB despite the Administration's requests for its elimination.

Also:

National Science Foundation (NSF)
Proposed FY21 Budget: $7.74 billion, a 6.5 percent cut versus FY20

Department of Energy Office of Science (SC)
Proposed FY21 Budget: $5.8 billion, a 17 percent cut versus FY20

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)
Proposed FY21 Budget: $0 million, with the agency to be eliminated

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Proposed FY21 Budget: $38.7 billion, a 7.2 percent cut versus FY20

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Proposed FY21 Budget: $6.66 billion, a 27 percent cut versus FY20

National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)
Proposed FY21 Budget: $737 million, a 29 percent cut versus FY20

STEM Education
NSF requested $930 million for EHR which would represent a 1 percent cut from FY20.
DOE Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists would receive $20.5 million for FY21, a 27 percent cut from FY20.
DoEd overall would receive a 8 percent cut versus FY20, with the following allocations for STEM-related programs:
Like in its FY19 request, the Administration has slated Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grants—designed to augment state programs for a number of academic areas, including the sciences—for elimination in FY21.
The Administration requested $2.05 billion for the Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, which are sources of federal funding to states for postsecondary career and technical education, an increase of 59 percent over FY20.
Proposed for elimination are $2.13 billion from Teacher Training under Title II Supporting Effective Instruction Grants, $190 million from Title IV funding for Education Innovation and Research Programs, and $1.25 billion for 21st Century Community Learning Centers that support after-school programs. Each of these programs would be consolidated into the Elementary and Secondary Education for the Disadvantaged (ESED) Block Grant.

and, an older article that explains the function of the CSB.......

Trump's Budget Kills The Chemical Safety Board. Here's What It Does
Sam Lemonick, Former Contributor - Science
Mar 17, 2017

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samlemonick/2017/03/17/what-is-the-chemical-safety-board/#16ed76a7da32

(snip)

.....Also on the list is the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which investigates chemical industry accidents and makes safety recommendations.

If you’re like me, you maybe weren’t sure you’d ever even heard of the CSB when you saw the news that it was on the chopping block. With a $12 million annual budget, it’s a tiny agency. And it’s only been around since 1998. In that time it’s investigated some high-profile accidents, like the 2013 explosion at a West, Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 and leveled a neighborhood.

If you are interested in samples of the CSB's highly professional work, go to YouTube and type in "CSB" in the search window.

-----------------

IMO, our public needs to be made aware of the consequences of these budget cuts for the sake of our health and safety. In addition, these cuts will substantially reduce America's standing as an international leader in basic science, technology and chemical process safety.

By the way, “fixed ground monitors” in the fire service are large fire suppression nozzles permanently mounted on pillars, typically near high-hazard tanks and processes.

KY..........