4 injured after refinery explosion in Southern California

The Exxon Mobile refinery in Torrance, California.

(Image credit: Twitter.com/LANow)

published 18 February 2015

A large explosion rocked the Exxon Mobile refinery in Torrance, California, Wednesday morning, injuring four workers and causing the equivalent of a magnitude 1.7 earthquake.

Torrance Fire Capt. Steve Deuel told the Los Angeles Times the incident could have been caused by a petroleum product leak. Following the explosion, area residents and schoolchildren were told to stay inside, and the four workers were taken to an area hospital for minor injuries. A smoke advisory was issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and Exxon said the air was being monitored to detect harmful air emissions.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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