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AQMD Issues Violation to Phillips 66 Refinery for
Releasing Rotten-Egg Odors
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Sept. 21, 2012
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a violation to
the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington this week for causing widespread
sulfur or “rotten-egg” odors in the nearby community.
The odors occurred on Sept. 17. AQMD officials believe they were caused when
vapors leaked from a storage tank at the refinery as the tank was being
filled with petroleum product. After receiving odor complaints that day,
AQMD deployed field staff to collect samples of outdoor air at the refinery
and in the areas surrounding it.
Although higher levels of air contaminants were detected close to the odor
source inside the refinery, concentrations measured in the communities
surrounding the refinery were similar to the levels typically seen across
Southern California.
The odors followed a complete refinery shut-down on Sept. 15 due to a power
cut. During the shut-down, which lasted about four hours, the refinery
burned or “flared” gas from its flare stacks. The resulting plumes of black
smoke could be seen across much of the South Bay area.
AQMD received more than 125 complaints from residents due to the smoke. The
agency now is investigating whether any air quality rules or regulations
were violated during the flaring incident.
During that incident, AQMD deployed inspectors to the communities
surrounding the refinery and collected samples of outdoor air. An analysis
of those samples found air contaminants at concentrations typical of those
seen across the region.
AQMD received hundreds of complaints last week for similar sulfur odors when
high winds transported odors from the Salton Sea across a wide swath of the
Southland. Odors detected in the South Bay on Sept. 17 were from the
Phillips 66 refinery and not the Salton Sea, AQMD officials said.
Refineries typically flare gases as a safety and air pollution control
measure during planned and unplanned equipment shutdowns. For more
information on flaring, see AQMD’s flaring web page at
http://www.aqmd.gov/comply/1118/faqs.htm.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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This page updated:
September 21, 2012
URL: http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/2012/Phillips66pr.htm
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