ExxonMobil expands Torrance oil contamination payouts

How nice of them to offer such a terrible deal to a few homeowners. This mess will only get worse. Remember, this is the same comapany that is still fighting the judgement against them when one of it's ships, the Exxon Valdez spilled a little oil a few years ago in Alaska.

This is the same refinery that paid the largest fine EVER to AQMD & was falsifying records. It was barely mentioned by Torrance. I pray the city isn't more concerned with their $13M taxes payments. I'm sure the same experts that "Cigarettes haven't been proven to cause cancer" & "Their is no proof on man's affect on the atmosphere" are available for a large fee.

What's required is a vigorous prosecution of Mobil to make them completely clean-up the mess they've made. It's evident that this has the potential of affecting many more homes and neighborhoods in the downtown Torrance area. I certainly hope that the City Council won't sweep this under the rug, and will fully cooperate with all Cal-state officials and agencies.

Tim Goodrich is the only person who has talked about this issue at the city council forums and is the only person who has addressed it on my blog.

Torrance2008.blogspot.com

I am hoping the other candidates will address this situation directly at the next forum or will come on my blog and discuss it in detail.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

If you buy a house by a refinery don't cry when you smell gass in your driveway.

I can tell that you that many, many city employees have been hit with cancer and other illnesses that could be tied to contamination including a few employees in the city manager's office as well as City Councilwoman Gene Drevno, and Councilwoman Pat McIntyre. Councilman Barnett's illness, while life threatening, is likely not related to this. City employees working at city hall are concerned but no one in city hall seems to be willing to take on giant Exxon Mobil...and so people suffer, get sick and die...

Inside City Hall wrote:

I can tell that you that many, many city employees have been hit with cancer and other illnesses that could be tied to contamination including a few employees in the city manager's office as well as City Councilwoman Gene Drevno, and Councilwoman Pat McIntyre. Councilman Barnett's illness, while life threatening, is likely not related to this. City employees working at city hall are concerned but no one in city hall seems to be willing to take on giant Exxon Mobil...and so people suffer, get sick and die...

Thanks for exposing this. That is why I left torrance city hall a couple years ago. Too many employees dying there--especially those in the CM office.

Thegassman wrote:

If you buy a house by a refinery don't cry when you smell gass in your driveway.

If refineries are going to be built they should do it in a non-residential area unless they know it will be no harm for people.

I worked at city hall and seen at least 10 people die or suffer from some form of cancer in the 30 years I was there

I say AMEN to The Gassman!! If you want to live where there is no pollution then dont move to LA. If nobody refines oil, how do you people expect to live?

Proud American wrote:

I say AMEN to The Gassman!! If you want to live where there is no pollution then dont move to LA. If nobody refines oil, how do you people expect to live?

What an incredibly stupid statement.

What about people here BEFORE the contamination?

Alternative fuels are the answer, you dope. We would already have them, but fools who believe in a finite resource and enjoy funding both side of this "war" on "terror" don't seem to believe in progress.

Do you have any education whatsoever? ANY?

Do you always support polluters and Big Business, none of whom give two *** about a moron that claims to be a "proud American"?

310STE wrote:

<quoted text>
If refineries are going to be built they should do it in a non-residential area unless they know it will be no harm for people.

The Torrance refinery was built in 1927. Anyone who owns a house near it bought knowing there is an oil refinery there. Maybe someday it could be converted to a windmill farm. The wind howls through there and could generate mucho electricity.

Ticker wrote:

<quoted text>The Torrance refinery was built in 1927. Anyone who owns a house near it bought knowing there is an oil refinery there. Maybe someday it could be converted to a windmill farm. The wind howls through there and could generate mucho electricity.

Soon these same people will sue, sue & sue some more. Why not buy them out with eminent domain.

Meloncap wrote:

<quoted text>
Soon these same people will sue, sue & sue some more. Why not buy them out with eminent domain.

Sue some more? Who has sued over this? As for using eminent domain, about 90% of the residents don't want to move, as long as exxon takes care of the contamination then we'll be fine. Many many of use were living here prior to the refinery.

Proud American wrote:

I say AMEN to The Gassman!! If you want to live where there is no pollution then dont move to LA. If nobody refines oil, how do you people expect to live?

Many of these families including mine have been living on this street for generations, weve been here prior to the refinery ever existing. We do need refinerys, but at the same time they need to be good neighbors. After all, we were here first.

VGV wrote:

<quoted text>The only one crying about this is the lady who can't sell her house because shes aksing too much for her piece of s**t house. She paid to much for it in the first place and thats her stupid fault. Many of the residents who live on the street have been doing so before the refinery was built.

Why would you want to live on this street?
That is just crazy.
Get out and let Mobil have the land.

Get Real wrote:

<quoted text>
Why would you want to live on this street?
That is just crazy.
Get out and let Mobil have the land.

This is where I was born and raised, evryone on the street knows and looks out for each other. This street also has historical significance, it was listed in the book "Historical Torrance" as one of the oldest streets in Torrance. Many parts of Torrance such as Marble Estates, the Walteria Area just to name a few all had oil wells back in the 20's and 30's. If these areas suffer from the same problems should we give this land to Mobil too?

Sorry, didn't proof read, everyone on the street...