Diamond Bar, CA — Today, community members and environmental justice advocates mobilized to advocate for the immediate ban, or phase out within 4 years (2023), of Modified Hydrofluoric Acid (MHF) from The Torrance Refinery and Wilmington (Los Angeles) Valero Refinery.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (AQMD) staff presented a report and sought a recommendation on next steps, which could literally mean life or death for hundreds of thousands of Angelenos at least 3-4 miles out from two oil refineries, according to U.S. EPA and AQMD, and probably much farther. AQMD staff’s presentation provided vivid and horrifying data and visuals regarding the risk of a catastrophic release of deadly MHF. AQMD directed staff to investigate both an MOU and an MHF phaseout, and report back to the Board’s Refinery Committee in 90 days on these options.