Investigators are beginning to piece together what led to a deadly explosion Monday at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, which killed two workers and injured 10 others — including one person who was pulled from the rubble after the blast.
Though earlier reports cited witness accounts of multiple explosions, U.S. Steel officials on Tuesday said only one explosion occurred — at coke batteries 13 and 14 — followed by a pressure release from two other batteries. All four batteries remained offline Tuesday, though the plant’s other operations remained online, they said at a news conference near the plant.
“They did their job. That’s why we saw a bit of a plume when those two [released],” said Scott Buckiso, senior vice president and chief manufacturing officer for U.S. Steel’s North American Flat-Rolled segment. Buckiso oversees U.S. Steel’s flat-rolled steel production operations in the Monongahela Valley and elsewhere.
“They did exactly what they were supposed to do from a safety standpoint,” Buckiso said.
Buckiso said business was operating as normal before the blast. He said crews were preparing for a planned maintenance job, but he did not say whether that preparation contributed to the blast.
U.S. Steel executives, along with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, shared scant other details at the news conference Tuesday. U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt said the investigation is just beginning to examine what caused the blast.
“We’re not going to speculate. We’re going to let the people do their work and support them in that important job,” Burrit said. “We will share as much as we can as soon as we can.”
Part of U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works, the Clairton plant converts coal to coke, a key component in the steel-making process. To make coke, coal is baked in special ovens for hours at high temperatures to remove impurities that could otherwise weaken steel. The process creates what’s known as coke gas — made up of a lethal mix of methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Shapiro applauded the effort of local first-responders and said he would continue to share state resources with Allegheny County officials as the investigation unfolds. He said he’s confident that U.S. Steel will comply with authorities to allow for a fully transparent investigation. He stressed that the families of the steelworkers are owed “answers to their questions.”
“It is dangerous work that they do. It shouldn’t be as dangerous as it was yesterday,” Shapiro said. “We owe them an answer for what happened.”
The blast, which Clairton city officials said could be felt as far as two miles from the plant, happened shortly before 11 a.m. Monday. Officials identified one of the two victims as Timothy Quinn, 39. Shapiro said Tuesday that the name of the second victim would not be released immediately at the request of that person’s family.
Shapiro, who visited with Quinn’s family Tuesday, shared that he used the name “T.Q.” and was the parent of three children. He was a second-generation steelworker who was devoted to his family, Shapiro added.
“We have a responsibility to remember his legacy,” Shapiro said. “And we will make sure that his children know that their dad was a special man.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
