Leak Detection and Repair Team (LDAR)

Keeping the safety of our operations and the community in mind, Torrance Refinery employs a team dedicated to detecting and repairing leaks throughout the Refinery because prompt, accurate leak detection and repair ensures safe, reliable, and responsible operations.

Members of the Refinery’s Environmental Department make up the highly skilled Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) team. They inspect an impressive 300,000 components throughout the Refinery every three months (quarter) using specialized LDAR equipment. The team inspects pipe flanges, valves, pumps, connectors, wells, tanks, and cooling towers, as well as sewers and drains throughout the Refinery’s Oily Water system.

Just like at home, some leaks are difficult to locate and isolate. For example, some leaks are so small, at such low concentrations, that they may be hard to see, smell, or hear. That is why our technicians use advanced technology to detect leaks that may be located in spaces too small for a person to enter. Each LDAR technician surveys a route that resets every quarter-year. If a leak is detected, a repair plan is submitted and completed, then the technician must re-inspect the repaired item again within a specified timeframe to ensure it is functioning properly.

The LDAR program is regulated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The threshold to report a leak is currently 500 parts per million (ppm) and leaks that meet the threshold are reported to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).

What is 500 ppm? To put it into perspective, when you open the cap of a permanent marker pen, an LDAR instrument will usually read 1,100 ppm! Below are examples of common household items and the “leak” readings they commonly display.