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4 Workers Hurt in Blast at Recycling Firm

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An explosion Wednesday morning at a toner recycling business left one worker in fair but guarded condition with first- and second-degree burns and three others briefly hospitalized for minor injuries, fire officials said.

Quoc Troung, 25, was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange with burns over 5% of his body after a duct system carrying toner, the inky powder used in copy machines and computer printers, was blasted open by an apparent static electricity buildup, fire officials said.

Firefighters took 20 minutes to extinguish the small blaze ignited by the 9:30 a.m. blast. The building lost power, fire officials said, forcing the business, Environmental Imaging, to shut down for the day.

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The incident is under investigation by the County Health Care Agency and the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, fire officials said.

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