Blast of Steam at Chevron Refinery Injures 10

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.