Comment form letters received for June 22, 2019 Refinery Committee Meeting
Subject: Rule 1410 - Mitigation is NOT enough
Message Body:
I have great concern with the AQMD Staff’s most recent approach to Rule 1410 to protect the community from Hydrofluoric Acid.
Catastrophic Release scenarios, by definition, include Earthquakes, Accidents and Terrorist attacks. Within each of these events it is probable that mitigation (including automated mechanisms), could malfunction, whether by electrical supply failure, mechanical failure, deferred maintenance or other as we have previously seen in past Refinery incidents. Even with the best of intentions, mitigation systems do fail. During the HF release in 1987 at the Marathon Refinery, falling equipment broke off two pipes at the top of an HF tank while also damaging the emergency water spray system. During the 2009 CITGO Refinery HF release the water suppression system ran out of water fighting both the fire and acid. Mitigation measures failed in the Union Carbide, Bhopal disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
I ask the AQMD to propose changes to the proposed Rule 1410 that would immediately require enhanced mitigation and implement a phase-out of MHF within 4 years.
Significant flaws exist in the currently proposed Performance Standard that the AQMD Staff has been insistent on developing.
1. Allowing the continued use of Hydrofluoric Acid and depending on active mitigation as a fail-safe protection measure is reckless. We have historically seen multiple mitigation failures in refinery accidents, industrial disasters and nuclear disasters. This is why the EPA Risk Management Plan guidelines for a worse-case release scenario disallow active mitigation.
2. Utilizing a single threshold of 95ppm for 10 minutes at the fenceline does not address the myriad of duration, concentration and location combinations in which a catastrophic release could take form. Acid release durations ranging from 30 seconds to 4 hours have been seen in historic refinery accidents. HF releases can travel for 10+ miles downwind.
3. Hole size created by events such as Earthquakes, Accidents and Terror is speculative. There are failure scenarios that are yet to be known. Specifying a catastrophic release scenario of only 2” hole diameter is negligent.
4. Modeling alone cannot be trusted to protect the community. This was extraordinarily evident in the false safety claims of MHF. The community does not deserve to be the guinea pig for mitigation efficacy.
HF/MHF alkylation is too great a risk in LA County, which is the most densely populated urban area in the US and an earthquake hotspot. The US Chemical Safety Board and SCAQMD have both affirmed that a MHF release could be catastrophic, killing tens of thousands and permanently harming hundreds of thousands. According to the LA County Department of Health “emergency responders, emergency rooms and burn centers would be overwhelmed and unprepared” in the event of a catastrophic release. Evacuation is an impossibility due to high population density.
Residents have been trying to eliminate HF alkylation since 1987. Commercially viable and affordable alternatives include conventional or advanced sulfuric acid, ionic liquids, and solid acid catalyst. I ask the AQMD to propose changes to the proposed Rule 1410 that would immediately require enhanced mitigation and implement a phase-out of MHF within 4 years.
This e-mail was sent from a contact form on the TRAA website (
https://www.traasouthbay.com)
--
Sent by the following:
Jinhee Choung
Cindy Koch
William Brown
Brian Hitchcock
Maureen Baker
Mark Rich
Stephanie Hong
Lisa Rich
Kurt A Krueger
Toe Tofiga
Morgan Bennyworth
Timothy Beyer
Catherine Chao |
Elizabeth Castillo
Cheryl Barnett
Steve & Rachael AlvarezJett
Brian Babb
Elizabeth C Roberts
Amanda Hernandez
David Thom
Steven Walker
Reginald Wong
Nina McCoy
Courtney Baradel
Clara Brisbin
Susie Holmes |
Karen Ohrenberger
Marcia Simeoni
Julia Wallace
Ami Costa
Jenny Gu
Pedro Pano
Bryn Zbyszewski
Jingjing Zhang
Sondra Steinhaus
Tim Feldt
Jamie Feldt
Lisa Takashima
Mia Maldovan
|
Comment form letters received before June 22, 2019 Refinery Committee Meeting
Subject: Phase-out MHF within four years with a STRONG Rule 1410
Message Body:
I ask that the SCAQMD adopt a strong Rule 1410 mandating MHF replacement with a safe alternative within four years. I oppose any agreement between the SCAQMD and refiners that allows HF/MHF alkylation to continue. Mitigation systems might reduce but can’t eliminate the effects of a larger MHF release and could fail completely.
HF/MHF alkylation is too great a risk in LA County, which is the most densely populated urban area in the US and an earthquake hotspot. The US CSB and SCAQMD have both affirmed that a MHF release could be catastrophic, killing tens of thousands and permanently harming hundreds of thousands. Evacuation is impossible due to high population density.
I oppose the MOU approach; we need a formal Rule 1410. An MOU would hide the dangers of MHF from public scrutiny for a third time. Two similar government efforts to eliminate HF alkylation hazards failed: the 1990 Torrance-Mobil Consent Decree and 2003 SCAQMD-Valero MOU. We can’t afford another failure.
Commercially viable and affordable alternatives include conventional or advanced sulfuric acid, ionic liquids, and solid acid catalyst. No extra time should be allotted for new technology. Residents have been trying to eliminate HF alkylation since 1987. 35 years is a long enough transition time.
--
This e-mail was sent from a contact form on the TRAA website (
https://www.traasouthbay.com)
Sent by the following:
A.C. Anderson
Stephen McCall
Wendy Burkhard
Catherine Luciano
Katie Baad
Torbjorn Max
Bill Reynolds
Reggie Wong
January Smith
Karen Ohrenberger
Brian Hitchcock
Constance Sullivan
Linda clark
Jane Affonso
Carolyn Waters
Celeste Talavera
Christine Carss
Scott Tobis
Leticia Mier
Natalie Lopez
Amy Adam
Ian Menzies
Baiyok Ishikawa
Steve Dillow
Mrs Angie Rosen
Mike Pirich
Elizabeth Edmunds
Gregory Sabo
Erich Nakano
Carol Pike Bauer
Phillip Valladares
Karen Profet
Carol N Johnson
Arthur Oshiro
Dana Kinonen
Rebecca Rosenthal
Stephen Pflanze
Leroy Keranen
Deborah Reynolds
Melody Kulsic
Mary Hester
Mary Pope
Joan Engelhaupt
Justin Havlovitz
Patrice Rodgers
Kelly Porterfield
Lisa Jarvis
Earlene Parsons
Cheryl Tchir
Rosa Fontana
Barbara and Jack Epstein
Katie Buckley
Hayden Weir
Natalie Tisherman
Leo Ramirez
Gerry O'Connor
Victoria Koh
JB Clark
Juliet Babros
Mari Ramskill
Andrea León-Grossmann
Diane Bauer
David Thom
Mary Chieffe
Katherine Schryver-Stahly
Simon Baty
Marguerite Tobias
Mardi Tobais
Gerald Orcholski
Laurie Craig
Jon hencks
Chelsea Edgecumbe
Rosemary
Frank Kotowski
Donna Heise
Janet Taga
Patricia Yates
Barbara Cambilargiu
Mary Eninger
Kathryn Froman
Sara McKown
Joan Wood
Hiroyuki Taga
April Wayland
Ross S. Heckmann
Tracy Thompson
Sandra Viera
Nikki
Brent Graham
Gayle Henrichon
Lauren Koch
Hiroko Higuchi
Melanie Cohen
Barbara Blundell
Judith B Herman
Russell Noel |
John King
Danielle Saxe
Betty Okamura
John Pena
Janice Blake
Rosalie Preston
Doug Hilke
Ann Hilke
Kelson Vibber
Ulrich Blaettler
Chris Aihara
Kathy Wright
Florence J Aleman
Aimee Mingus
Andrea Dunham
Angela Mijares
Cindy Annulli
Don CLAY
Bulmaro Pulido
Carly Wooster
Alison Gordon
John O'Brien
Virginia Minami
Judy Pang
Ann Ngo
Brian Babb
Jenny Durand
Jennifer Pirich
Pamela Popovich
Teri Tomlinson
Mike Robelotto
Lauretta Nieves
Ellen Margetich
Janet Schoenfeld
Jeralyn
Valerie Reid
Fabiola Martinez
Rebecca James
Carol Babeli
John Moery
Joyce Neu
Maureen Baker
Brandon Martin
Jinhee Choung
Lind Goldman
Adele Gleichman
Lonnie Gordon
Linda Berler
Lori Kegler
Jack O.
Judy English
Cheryl Townsend
Bonnie Mae Barnard
Shana G
John Zimmermann
Lynn Krikorian
Steve Lubs
JAMES LINDGREN
Cathleen Clay
Lara Windisch
Julia Kwak
Monique
Mary Ruth Ewell
Susan Starbuck
Ricardo Wheeler
Mario E Martinez
Eileen Taschereau
Stacy Cornelius
Carol Lewis
Tad Sullivan
Wendy Walchenbach
Susan Cross
Sylvia De Baca
Matt Graham
Sara Katz
Charles Wolfe
Judy Alter
Victoria Jensen
Sara Fogan
Amanda H
Nancy K Brigden
Kris Head
Heidi sowards
Dennis Landi
Jame
Kathianne Selindh
Cheri Lowe
Sheila Sluk
Inge Mueller
Kimberlee Telo
Ruth Vogel
Margo Goode
Sara Burns
Andrea Iaderosa
Carlyn Lampert
Margarita Perez |
Randy Simon
Kae Bender
Ann Dorsey
Carol Ng
Vince
Tom Hazelleaf
D King
Rachel Pringle
Jacqueline Landeros
Lauren Schneider
Claire Lavagnino
Manuel Wong
Al Betancourt
Joel Posner
Elvira Arias
Georgia C. Koenig
Valerie Lizarraga
Peggy Ellingson
William Arvanitis
Kate Chappell
Stephanie m Nunez
Diana Koeck
Shannon
Lynn C. Bossone
Barbara Hargenrater
Pat Throssel
Rebecca Newton
Alicia Kern
Arne Hurty
Jane Nachazel
Michael G. Terry
Elmer Anderson
Bonney Larson
Monica Sweet
Charming Evelyn
Robert Keenan
Mary Santamaria
Lynn Bossone
Alexandra Barbone
Diana Regan
Cher Gilmore
Levi R Pine
Judy Shaffer
Tracy Lambert
Richard Sherman
Derek Lazzaro
Michael Duncan
MARILYN E VANOPPEN
Ruth Vogel
Barbara marriott
Patricia Palmer
David C Cortese
Brittany Cliffe
Lynne Michaels
Shaun Hensley
Irene Guimera
Misha Askren
Gretchen Smith
Lorraine Turcotte
Edward Barreras
Sara Garrison
Alexis Aceves
Jane Gabrilove
Alexander Constant
Kelly Vanderlan
Michael C Bawolski
Eric Murakami
Mary Watson
Kawkrai Maksrivorawan
Pamela Beard
Dan Manross
Vanessa Phan
Galen Harold
D. Gottlieb
Elaine Guice
Vani Ramachandran
Samantha Tobey
Carol Karolak
Moe Age
Daniel Urrere
Noemi Windisch
Paul Silverstein
Andrew Chuang
Cindy Koch
Leslie Cope
Liza McKnight
Krista Chaison
Katti Fields
Debi Savicky
Matt Crew
Harry Stuver
Che Van Dyck
Donna Tarr
Rich kagan
Laura Shaw
Gabe Smalley |