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The Shell Oil Co. is appealing the state Department of Labor and Industries’ findings of serious safety violations at the company’s refinery in Anacortes and the proposed $109,600 in fines.

L&I was notified of the company’s position in a June 30 letter from Shell’s legal department in Houston, Tex.

The state agency last week cited the Shell Puget Sound Refinery plant for 23 “serious” safety violations found during what officials called a “comprehensive inspection.” Shell’s was the first large refinery in the state to undergo an in-depth inspection as part of a new federal program begun after a 2005 explosion at a BP America refinery in Texas that killed 15 and injured 170.

The letter from Shell’s lawyers said the company intended to appeal the citation and proposed fines in their entirety, saying that the standards used by the inspectors either didn’t apply to the refinery or had already been complied with.

L&I inspectors reported problems at the Shell refinery ranging from inadequate training and improper documentation to unguarded rotating shafts.