Two people dead, 10 others injured after explosion at US Steel plant in Pennsylvania

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 US Steel plants in Pennsylvania.

An explosion at a US Steel plant near Pittsburgh left two dead and sent at least 10 to hospitals Monday and heavily damaged the sprawling facility, officials said.One worker was pulled from the wreckage hours after the explosion sent black smoke spiraling into the midday sky in the Mon Valley, a region of the state synonymous with steel for more than a century. Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:51 a.m. Authorities later said a second person had died.The explosion, followed by several smaller blasts, could be felt in the nearby community and prompted county officials to warn residents to stay away from the scene so emergency workers could respond.“It felt like thunder,” Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, told 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.”Cause under investigationCause under investigationAt a news conference, Scott Buckiso, US Steel’s chief manufacturing officer, did not give details about the damage or casualties, and said they were still trying to determine what happened. US Steel employees “did a great job” of going in and rescuing workers, shutting down gases and making sure the site was stable.Buckiso said the company, now a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp., is working with authorities. US Steel CEO David B. Burritt said the company would thoroughly investigate the cause.“I end every meeting and every message with the words, ‘Let’s get back to work safely.’ That commitment has never been more important, and we will honor it,” he said in a statement.Allegheny Health Network said it treated seven patients from the plant, and discharged five within a few hours. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said it is treating three patients at UPMC Mercy, the region’s only level one trauma and burn center.Clairton resident Amy Sowers was sitting on her porch, located less than a mile from the plant, and felt her house shake from the blast.“I could see smoke from my driveway,” she said. “We heard ambulances and fire trucks from every direction.”Air quality concerns and health warningsThe 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.The 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.Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi said his heart goes out to the victims of Monday’s explosion.“The mill is such a big part of Clairton,” he said. “It’s just a sad day for Clairton.”The Allegheny County Health Department said it lifted an advisory it issued earlier in the day telling residents within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of the plant to remain indoors and close all windows and doors. It said its monitors have not detected levels of soot or sulfur dioxide above federal standards.According to the company, the plant has approximately 1,400 workers.The plant has a long history of pollution concernsIn recent years, the Clairton plant has been plagued by concerns about pollution.In 2019, it agreed to settle an air pollution lawsuit for $8.5 million. Five years later, the company agreed to spend $19.5 million in equipment upgrades and $5 million on local clean air efforts and programs as part of settling a federal lawsuit filed by Clean Air Council and PennEnvironment and the Allegheny County Health Department.The lawsuit stemmed from a Christmas Eve fire in 2018 that caused $40 million in damage. The fire damaged pollution control equipment and led to repeated releases of sulfur dioxide, according to a lawsuit. In the wake of the fire, Allegheny County warned residents to limit outdoor activities, with residents saying for weeks afterward that the air felt acidic, smelled like rotten eggs and was hard to breathe.In February, a problem with a battery at the plant led to a “buildup of combustible material” that ignited, causing an audible “boom,” officials said. Two workers received first aid treatment at a local hospital but were not seriously injured.