At Least One Dead, Dozens Injured in U.S. Steel Works Coke Explosion

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--United States Steel Corporation's (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) (U.S. Steel) Clairton Coke Works, located just south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, experienced a fire and explosion shortly before 11 a.m. on Monday, resulting in at least one death, 10 injured and one employee missing.

Coking plants are where metallurgical coal is transformed into the coke used in steel blast furnaces. U.S. Steel's Clairton works is the largest coking plant in North America and has been in operation since 1916.

Details of the event continue to emerge. Local news affiliate KDKA-TV reported that the explosion occurred inside the reversing room, which houses the mechanisms and controls used to regulate the heating cycle of the coke oven battery. This involves complicated arrays of valves, dampers and similar equipment to regulate the flow of air and fuel gas, as well as the flow direction of the gases through the heating flues--a flow that is periodically reversed to ensure even baking of the coal, giving the area its name. According to U.S. Steel's website, the Clairton Coke Works operates 10 coke oven batteries and produces approximately 4.3 million tons of coke annually.

The Associated Press reported that in February, a buildup of combustible gas in one of the batteries ignited, leading to an audible "boom." Two workers got material in their eyes but were not seriously injured. A fire in late 2018 caused $40 million worth of damage, harming pollution-control equipment, which resulted in repeated releases of sulfur dioxide. As part of a federal lawsuit filed by environmental agencies regarding the plant, U.S. Steel last year agreed to $19.5 million in equipment upgrades and to put $5 million toward local clean air efforts and programs.

While no air-quality issues have been detected from the Monday explosion, authorities were advising people within one mile of the plant to remain indoors with their windows closed.

This is a developing story, and Industrial Info will provide more details as they emerge. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.

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