D.H. Smith; Pioneered ‘Clean’ Gas

Dwaine H. Smith, a pioneer developer of “clean” gasoline, has died at the age of 52.

Smith, a senior vice president for Arco Products Co., died of cancer Monday night at Torrance Memorial Hospital.

The chemical engineer was recently recognized by the California Assembly for his role in developing Arco’s EC-1 regular gasoline, which was lauded for reducing air pollution, and for his research on alternative fuels.

Smith had served since 1988 on the Governor’s Advisory Board on Air Quality and Fuels. He was a director of the National Petroleum Refiners’ Assn. and served as a member of the joint automobile and oil industry research planning task force.

He was a resident of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and had spent his entire career with Arco. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was an Arco-Sloan Fellow.

After joining the company’s research section in 1959, Smith was named manager of its Cherry Point Refinery in Bellingham, Wash., in 1975 and manager of its Philadelphia Refinery a year later. He moved to Arco’s Los Angeles office in 1979 as a vice president.

Smith is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and three children, of Palos Verdes; his mother, Iva Smith of Elyria, Ohio, and a sister.

The family has requested that memorial donations be made to St. Peter’s by the Sea Presbyterian Church, Rancho Palos Verdes, or to the American Cancer Society.

Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Peter’s.