The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 107, No. 40 - October 4, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................6
Legals............................ 12,13
Letters...................................3
Obituaries.............................2
Pets......................................14
Real Estate.....................7-11
Sports.............................. 5,15
Weekend
Forecast
El Segundo High School 2018
Homecoming Court in Session
Presenting the El Segundo High School 2018 Homecoming Royal Court! Front row left to right: Freshman Princess Eleanor Garcia, Sophomore Princess Kayla James, Senior Prince Quin Kirsten and Junior
Princess Allison Beard. Back row from left to right: Freshman Prince Neal Fallon, Sophomore Prince Grayson Daley, King Matt Tritasavit, Queen Sierra Rollin, Senior Princess Catherine Phelps and Junior
Prince David Madrid. Photo by Ralf Stier.
ESPD Announces Involvement
in Pink Patch Project
The Pink Patch Project is a public
awareness campaign designed to bring
attention to the fight against breast cancer
and to support breast cancer research. It
is a collaborative effort between the Los
Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association
and several public safety agencies in LA
County and beyond. Over 300 agencies
joined the project to increase awareness
and raise money for the cause. Each agency
supports an organization of its choice, with
funds donated from the sales of Pink Patch
Project items. The funds go directly to
research, treatment and education needed
to help find a cure. One in eight women
will be diagnosed with breast cancer and
the goal is to raise awareness for women
to get early checks.
From Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, you will see
El Segundo Police Department personnel
wearing pink patches on their uniforms
and driving a patrol car with a pink stripe.
The goal is to start a conversation to raise
awareness about this disease and as a
reminder about the importance of early
detection. This year, as well as the past
two years, the El Segundo Police Officers’
Association (ESPOA) will donate
a portion of the money raised from Pink
Patch Project events (sales from t-shirts,
pink patches, events in El Segundo at
locations such as Rock and Brews, Standard
Station and CPK) to El Segundo
See Pink Patch Project, page 15
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
70˚/63˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
69˚/62˚
Sunday
Sunny
69˚/61˚
City Council Hears from Chevron
on Recent Flare, Dust Releases
By Brian Simon
Chevron’s Rod Spackman addressed the
El Segundo City Council on Tuesday night
regarding last month’s flare and dust emission
incidents at the local refinery. The series of
events began at 7:42 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 17
when a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit lost
power. Chevron safety measures automatically
shut down the unit, but diversion of product resulted
in what Spackman termed “a heavy flaring
event you would not typically see.” The large
plume of smoke was visible from quite a distance,
prompting concern from local residents
as well as those in neighboring communities.
Chevron at 7:45 a.m. notified the El Segundo
Fire Department (ESFD) which dispatched
personnel to the site. Chief Chris Donovan
reported that when it became apparent this
was a controlled fire, “we canceled mutual
aid.” A Nixle alert went out at 8:19 a.m. via
the El Segundo Police Department reporting
the burn-off and indicating there was “no immediate
danger to the community.”
Early the following morning saw a release of
“fine white material” known as FCC catalyst
to areas west and northwest of the refinery.
Spackman noted that the components consisted
of silica (sand), clay binding materials and
small amounts of metal oxides. Chevron sent
crews out to adjacent areas to drop off flyers
with information (including a free car wash
voucher) for those noticing physical impacts
to properties and/or vehicles from the dust, as
well as whom to contact at the refinery.
Then a second catalyst dust release occurred at
about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, which
Spackman described as a “more consequential
event.” In attempting to restart the FCC unit,
the refinery experienced a monitoring equipment
malfunction that resulted in “significant
amounts of materials” discharged over the next
90 minutes or so.
In determining what caused the initial power
failure, Spackman thought it was likely a reliability
issue with the refinery substation – and
not any fault of Southern California Edison. He
confirmed that Chevron will take its own corrective
actions going forward and that agencies
such as the Air Quality Management District
(AQMD) and El Segundo’s Certified Unified
Program Agency (CUPA, which deals with
chemical disclosures) will continue to review
the incident. He added that the refinery also
received a nuisance violation.
Spackman apologized for the incidents,
saying he was “personally frustrated” by
them. Pointing out his 32 years at the refinery,
he said, “Public trust is a big deal to me.”
He emphasized that he wants to ensure the
public understands Chevron’s operations and
how it responds in the event of any incidents.
Spackman also lauded the efforts of the ESFD
throughout the process.
The Council members chimed in on the
topic of communication. Mayor Drew Boyles
See City Council, page 12