A power outage in Torrance caused the PBF Energy-owned refinery to send off flares in October 2016. More scheduled flares are expected as part of the refinery’s upcoming turnaround procedure. It’s the classic good news-bad news story.

Hundreds of extra workers began pouring into the PBF Energy-owned refinery in Torrance to begin a three-month, $100 million maintenance programme aimed at improving the plant’s operational reliability. That’s good news to jittery residents concerned about their health and safety in the wake of repeated safety lapses at the plant over the past two years.

The bad news? The massive operation, known in industry parlance as a "turnaround," is expected to trigger repeated flaring episodes until it concludes July 10. About 40 instances of flaring – one every few days – are anticipated as the refinery releases pressure or excess gases as necessary during the maintenance work.

In fact, the refinery already has started flaring, said Valerie Tse, an environmental engineer with a decade of experience working for PBF and former owner ExxonMobil in Torrance. The Torrance Alerts system notified residents that a planned flare – which can cause increased air pollution – shortly after PBF began shutting down some equipment ahead of turnaround.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District notified residents and others of the increased flaring activity via "door-hangers" on homes and businesses. The turnaround will involve doubling the refinery’s regular 1,000-strong workforce of employees and contractors and shifts working around the clock.

The maintenance work is expected to improve reliability of refinery operations, which AQMD officials have called "unacceptable’ and "not normal" because of repeated unplanned flaring, fires and the February 2015 explosion that literally shook the city.