On Monday, August 11, an incident occurred at US Steel’s Clairton Plant where emergency teams were immediately dispatched to the scene. US Steel reported two fatalities as well as several others who were injured. According to media reports, it took hours to find two missing workers among the wreckage and rubble.
Following the tragedy, US Steel employees and other agencies have been thoroughly investigating. Preliminary indications lead the company to believe the explosion occurred when flushing a gas valve, in preparation for planned maintenance. Pressure built inside the valve, leading to valve failure and coke oven gas filling the area and ultimately exploding when finding an ignition source. According to media reports, this is not the first incident at the Clairton Plant as an explosion in February injured two workers. US Steel has reiterated that the current investigation is still in its early stages and the company will provide additional information as soon as possible.