Exxon plans Torrance refinery unit restart

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) plans to restart an unidentified unit at its 150,000 barrel per day (bpd) Los Angeles-area refinery in Torrance, California, which may trigger flaring between Thursday and Tuesday, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The unit was shut on Wednesday morning after an inner wall of a heater was damaged exposing asbestos, according to a notice filed with the California Office of Emergency Services.

Exxon spokeswoman Aarti Ramachandran said the asbestos was not released into the air.

Ramachandran declined to disclose which unit had the heater malfunction.

A notice filed with the South Coast Air Quality Management District said the flaring was unrelated to an equipment breakdown.

Asbestos has been found to cause mesothelioma, a cancer of the protective lining covering most of the body's organs.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Marguerita Choy)