Leak at Exxon Mobil’s refinery in Torrance has been ‘contained,’ police say

A leak at Exxon Mobil’s refinery in Torrance that generated a large column of smoke and activated sirens has been “stabilized” and “contained,” authorities said Friday evening.

The refinery’s sirens had instructed people to “shelter in place,” according to a statement posted on the Torrance Police Department’s Facebook page, but the order was lifted just after 7 p.m.

The leak at the plant -- in the 3700 block of West 190th Street -- had occurred about an hour earlier, police said. It involved an 8-inch pipeline in the “crude unit,” authorities said. As a result of the leak, smoke left the refinery and billowed for more than a mile.

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“As we have more information we will send additional notification,” the Torrance Fire Department said on its Facebook page.

As of about 7:30 p.m., police said all roads were open.

“Sorry for the scare and any inconvenience,” the department wrote on its Facebook page.

Twitter: @ByMattStevens

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