Torrance mulls new chemical for refinery.

Mobil seeks OK to use modified hydrogen fluoride 

The Torrance City Council is supposedly scheduled to vote this week to accept or reject a recommendation by its court-appointed safety adviser that Mobil Oil Corp. be allowed to use a less dangerous, "modified" hydrogen fluoride at its Torrance oil refinery.

The oil refining process requires the use of hydrogen fluoride, commonly called HF, or another toxic substance, sulfuric acid. Mobil currently uses HF, which, if spilled, could form a ground-hugging, deadly cloud that could spread with the wind.

Mobil has agreed to a court settlement with the City of Torrance to either switch to sulfuric acid or a less dangerous form of HF by Dec. 31, 1997, said Jim Carbonetti, Mobil spokesman.

A court-appointed safety adviser, San Francisco-based engineering consulting firm EQE International Inc., has recommended that Mobil be allowed to use the newly developed, less dangerous HF, saying it poses the same or slightly fewer health risks as the other alternative - sulfuric acid.

Mobil's Torrance refinery is one of three refineries in L.A. County that uses HF. The others are Powerine Oil Co.'s refinery in Santa Fe Springs and Ultramar Inc.'s in Wilmington.

It would cost Mobil about $100 million to retool its refinery for sulfuric acid, Carbonetti said. It would cost about $10 million to modify it to accept the new HF, he said.

The modified HF was developed by Fairfax, Va.-based Mobil and Bartlesville, Okla.-based Phillips Petroleum Co. Both companies wanted to develop a less dangerous form of HF because it is used at about 60 oil refineries across the U.S., Carbonetti said.

Reduce danger

The modified HF "suppresses the vapor-forming tendencies when it is released into the atmosphere," Carbonetti said.

The Torrance council heard testimony last week that the modified HF would be safer than the original HF and pose about the same health risks as sulfuric acid.

John Kullok, hazardous materials analyst for the Torrance Fire Department, said a spill of either the modified HF and sulfuric acid could cause a toxic cloud to form. But the sulfuric acid one would not be as dense and would not be able to travel as far as a cloud formed by a spill of the original HF.

"The studies show it is equivalent or better than sulfuric acid," said Torrance Fire Department Battalion Chief Kennith Hall.

Torrance Councilman Dan Walker, a longtime Mobil critic, said he believes the new HF is as safe as sulfuric acid. "I have experts saying it. I have a fire chief, who is a very independent individual, saying it (is as safe)."

A court-appointed safety adviser has also issued a report stating the modified HF is as safe or safer than sulfuric acid.

Torrance City Attorney John Fellows said that if the Torrance council accepts the recommendation Mobil will be free to use the new HF immediately.

If the council rejects the recommendation, the city of Torrance may file its objections to the modified HF with the court and the judge overseeing the court settlement, retired Superior Court Judge Harry Petris, will rule whether Mobil can use the new HF, Fellows explained.