Explosion at US Steel coking plant in Pennsylvania leaves people trapped under rubble
An explosion at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh left one dead and dozens injured or trapped under the rubble Monday, with emergency workers on site trying to rescue victims, officials said.
The explosion at Clairton Coke Works sent black smoke spiralling into the midday sky in the Monongahela Valley, a region of the state synonymous with steel for more than a century. An Allegheny County emergency services spokesperson, Kasey Reigner, said one person died in the explosion and two were currently believed to be unaccounted for. Multiple other people were treated for injuries, Reigner said.
The Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:51 a.m. and that it has transported five people. The agency did not provide any more details on those people transported and would only say it was an “active scene.”
Around 1 p.m., Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi said in a Facebook post that he was at the mill.
“There are people hurt and that is the utmost importance. I was just notified that as of 10 minutes ago, the issue and the affected equipment and and gas are contained and not impeding on the Clairton Community or surrounding communities. No need to shelter in place or leave your home,” he wrote, calling the explosion a “terrible incident.”
The plant, a massive industrial facility along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, is considered the largest coking operation in North America and is one of four major U.S. Steel plants in Pennsylvania that employ several thousand workers.
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who formerly served as the mayor of nearby Braddock, called the explosion “absolutely tragic” and vowed to support steelworkers in the aftermath.
“I grieve for these families,” Fetterman said. “I stand with the steelworkers.”
Washington Mayor Jojo Burgess, who works at the Clairton Coke Works, said his station is about 100 yards from where the explosion occurred.
“We all heard a loud boom and the ground shook,” Burgess said. “We walked out and saw one of the batteries had a lot of smoke coming out of it.”
He and the workers in his area then went to their pre-designated “muster point” to be accounted for as emergency crews responded to the explosion site.
“I’m here. I’m not in any danger,” Burgess said. “But it’s a pretty bad scene down here.”
In June, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel announced they had finalized a “historic partnership,” a deal that gives the U.S. government a say in some matters and comes a year and a half after the Japanese company first proposed its nearly $15 billion buyout of the iconic American steelmaker.
The pursuit by Nippon Steel for the Pittsburgh-based company was buffeted by national security concerns and presidential politics in a premier battleground state, dragging out the transaction for more than a year after U.S. Steel shareholders approved it.
In February, a problem with a battery at the plant led to a “buildup of combustible material” that ignited, causing an audible “boom,” the Allegheny County Health Department said. Two workers who got material in their eyes received first aid treatment at a local hospital but were not seriously injured.
In recent years, the Clairton plant has been dogged by concerns about pollution. In 2019, it agreed to settle a 2017 lawsuit for $8.5 million. Under the settlement, the company agreed to spend $6.5 million to reduce soot emissions and noxious odors from the Clairton coke-making facility.
The company also faced other lawsuits over pollution from the Clairton facility, including ones accusing the company of violating clean air laws after a 2018 fire damaged the facility’s sulfur pollution controls.
In a post on X, Gov. Josh Shapiro urged those who live nearby to follow the direction of local authorities. He also wrote that state police and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency are ready to assist first responders at the scene.