Oil refineries would be banned from using the toxic compound hydrofluoric acid — which can be deadly even at low concentrations — in making high-octane gasoline under a new bill from California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters.
The “Preventing Mass Casualties from Release of Hydrofluoric Acid at Refineries Act,” H.R. 7384, would give existing plants five years to find alternatives to what it describes as “an exceptionally hazardous chemical” that could kill or injure thousands of people in the event of a major accident. Violators would be subject to fines of up to $37,500 per infraction.
About 40 refineries currently use hydrofluoric acid, which is also known as hydrogen fluoride or HF. More than 14 million people living near refineries are at risk, many of them in communities “disproportionately impacted by environmental burdens,” the legislation states.
One of those refineries is located in the city of Torrance in Waters’ Southern California district. In 2015, the plant was shaken by an explosion that could have been catastrophic had a tank containing tens of thousands of pounds of modified HF ruptured, according to a later inquiry.