An explosion and subsequent fire at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery on Thursday night alarmed residents in the South Bay area, with reports of at least one worker injured and a large pillar of fire visible for miles. The incident sent smoke and strong odors across nearby neighborhoods, prompting concerns about air quality and safety.
Local regulators have begun investigating the cause of the fire, but federal agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Mitigation Board are not currently involved due to a federal government shutdown. The Chemical Safety Board is also facing possible defunding as proposed by the Trump administration.
Joe Lyou, president of the Coalition for Clean Air, commented on the lack of federal oversight: “The Trump administration has defunded the Chemical Safety board, and the federal government is shut down right now. So there is a very good possibility we are never going to know what really caused this, because the experts in figuring this stuff out are no longer there to do that.”
Labor unions expressed concern about ongoing risks at California’s 15 refineries. Joe Uehlein, board president of the Labor Network for Sustainability, said: “Companies are making billions in profits and still are making it nearly impossible to make sure we’re safe from terrible disasters. In California, we’ve seen horrific injuries to workers and tens of thousands of residents have had to seek medical attention in refinery accidents. This time, we got lucky.”
Historically, investigations by the Chemical Safety Board have identified causes behind major incidents such as a 2015 explosion at ExxonMobil’s Torrance refinery that resulted in significant findings related to equipment failure.
However, with current budget cuts threatening its operations, advocates worry future incidents may go unexplained. Lyou added: “They’re undermining our ability to prevent these accidents by taking away the accountability mechanisms in the federal government. That’s a huge concern. It’s not politics. Democrats and Republicans live around the Chevron refinery, and they both want to make sure that the refinery is operating safely.”
In lieu of federal oversight, local agencies like South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) are conducting their own investigation into potential violations involving air quality rules after Thursday’s event. AQMD officials reported that initial spikes in airborne chemicals were detected following ignition but stated conditions normalized within hours.
Julia May, senior scientist for Communities for a Better Environment, noted concerns about pollution distribution: “I was very surprised that the air district reported they weren’t seeing terribly high levels of pollution,” she said. “Sometimes in a big refinery fire like this, it goes straight up. But then the smoke comes down in other areas. And that’s a lot of pollution that’s going someplace.”
Public records indicate Chevron’s El Segundo facility has been cited repeatedly for environmental and safety violations over recent years—including 13 notices from AQMD within twelve months—and OSHA has conducted numerous inspections resulting in citations for heat illness prevention failures and other workplace hazards.
With many regulatory staff furloughed during this government shutdown—OSHA’s media line notes activities have been suspended due to funding loss—it remains uncertain whether there will be any further investigation into Thursday’s incident.
Reflecting on broader implications for energy policy following such events May stated: “They (the refineries) have great workers and great fire departments to respond, but this is an inherently dangerous operation that handles hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of flammable explosive materials under high temperature and high pressure… When something goes wrong you can have a runaway fire… But do we really want antiquated dirty energy in our communities?”
