Blast of Steam at Chevron Refinery Injures 10
- Share via
An accidental blast of steam from equipment at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery injured 10 contract maintenance workers Thursday afternoon.
One worker, 38-year-old Rene Pasco, was flown by helicopter to UCLA Medical Center and then to the burn unit at Sherman Oaks Hospital after the 1:10 p.m. accident at the refinery’s coker unit, Chevron spokesman Rod Spackman said.
Another man suffered a broken leg when he jumped clear of the steam blast, but no other names or conditions of the injured were available.
The accident occurred when a water drill being used to remove material from the coker unit hit a hot spot, shooting a flash of steam toward a group of men doing concrete work nearby, Spackman said.
Pasco and eight of the other injured workers are employees of Long Beach-based Jenkin Construction Co. The 10th injured worker, an employee of Western Removal Services in Whittier, was treated and released at a hospital, supervisor David Wright said.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
