An explosion at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh on Monday left two people dead and at least 10 others injured, Allegheny County officials said.
The explosion erupted at Clairton Coke Works at 10:51 a.m. ET, leaving some employees trapped under rubble for hours. One of the deceased victims was identified as Timothy Quinn, a 39-year-old father of three. Quinn was a second-generation steelworker at the same plant his dad worked at for over 40 years, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a press conference Tuesday. The second victim’s family does not want their identity released.
The plant is stable, and an investigation into what caused the blast is underway, Scott Buckiso, executive vice president and chief manufacturing officer of U.S. Steel, said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
According to Pittsburgh KDKA-TV reporter Ricky Sayer, the explosion took place inside the plant’s “reversing room,” which is a specialized area within the coke-producing oven that’s designed to help control air and gas flows during the coal heating process.
“Felt like thunder,” Zachary Buday, a construction worker who was near the scene at the time of the explosion, told local ABC affiliate WTAE-TV. “Shook the scaffold, shook my chest and shook the building, and then when we saw the dark smoke coming up from the steel mill, and put two and two together and it’s like something bad happened.”
Clairton Coke Works sits along the Monongahela River, about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, and is part of the U.S. Steel manufacturing group in western Pennsylvania. The plant heats up coal to produce coke, a carbon-rich substance that’s crucial for creating steel. Clairton Coke Works is considered the largest coke plant in North America, according to U.S. Steel, and produces around 4.3 million tons of coke annually.
Nearly 1,300 people work at the plant, David Burritt, president and CEO of U.S. Steel, said in a statement on X. Buckiso said Tuesday that every employee had been accounted for.
Over the last few years, Clairton Coke Works has faced a number of lawsuits over pollution concerns. In 2019, the plant settled a 2017 lawsuit for $8.5 million and agreed to spend at least $6.5 million to reduce its soot emissions and noxious odors.
“The mill is such a big part of Clairton,” Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi said Monday afternoon, according to the AP. “It’s just a sad day.”
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