2 Injured in Explosion, Fire at Shell Refinery

Two workers sustained minor injuries Thursday in a small explosion and brief fire at the Shell Oil refinery in Carson, company and county fire officials said.

Fourteen workers were spattered with a solution containing sulfuric acid when the explosion took place, but 12 of them returned to work after taking showers, Shell spokesman Gene Munger said. The injured pair were treated at Long Beach Medical Clinic for minor acid exposure to the eyes and released, he said.

The explosion occurred shortly before 1 p.m. as a work crew performed routine maintenance on an out-of-service “alkylation” unit, which uses sulfuric acid in the production of high-octane unleaded gasoline, Munger said. Company firefighters had brought the blaze under control by the time Los Angeles County Fire Department units arrived shortly after 1 p.m., county fire Capt. Anthony Cardullo said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, Munger said.