Reports related to this article:
Plant(s): View 1 related plant in PECWeb
Released August 13, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As more details emerge about Monday's deadly explosion at U.S. Steel's (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Clairton Coking Works near Pittsburgh, an executive said that the plant would continue operations at a reduced capacity. The coke produced at the plant, the largest coking facility in North America, is critical for U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works, which includes not only the coking plant, but also three nearby steel mills, as well as other facilities.
The explosion occurred Monday just before 11 a.m. and was followed by smaller explosions. The event reportedly occurred near coke oven batteries 13 and 14. Not long after the incident, U.S. Steel reported two people missing, one confirmed dead and several injured. By Monday evening, both missing workers had been found. One was pulled from the rubble approximately four hours after the blast and taken by helicopter to an area hospital. The second missing worker was found deceased, raising the number of deaths to two. Ten people were taken to hospitals, where as of Tuesday morning, five had been released and five remained in critical but stable condition.
The Clairton plant processes about 18,000 tons of coal each day, producing about 4.7 million tons of coke annually to be used in steelmaking blast furnaces by both U.S. Steel and other companies and industries. About 1,300 people work at the plant each day. The plant is part of the larger Mon Valley Works, which includes the Irvin and Edgar Thomson steel mills, about seven and 12 miles away down the Monongahela River, as well as the Fairless plant near Pittsburgh, which specializes in hot-dip galvanizing. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Plant Database can click here for the related plant profiles.
One of the deceased victims was Timothy Quinn, a 39-year-old father of three whose own father worked at one of the Mon Valley mills for 42 years, according to NBC News. While the extent of the damage is still being investigated, Kurt Barshick, vice president of the Mon Valley Works said Monday evening, "We will be making limited coke, but that's not our priority tonight."
In recent years, the plant has caused contention with area residents regarding its emissions. A 2018 fire at the plant knocked pollution controls offline, leading to a reported 4,500% increase in sulfur air pollution. A few years following the incident, U.S. Steel announced that it would close three of the plant's most-polluting coke oven batteries out of a total of 10. In 2024, a settlement regarding the 2018 fire-induced emissions release resulted in the closure of another battery (Battery 15) and tens of millions of dollars in upgrades to the plant's pollution controls. Still, elevated sulfur levels from the plant were reported as recently as June this year, when a control room that removes chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia was bypassed in order to perform repairs.
This week's explosion has caused groups responsible for the court settlement to continue to question the plant's safety and environmental statuses. "We need a full, independent investigation into the cause of this latest catastrophe and re-evaluation as to whether the Clairton plant is fit to keep operating," said David Masur, director of the statewide environmental advocacy group PennEnvironment, according to Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
The outcome of the investigation's results will fall not only to U.S. Steel, but also Japan's Nippon Steel (Tokyo, Japan), which in June cemented a $15 billion "partnership" with the iconic U.S. company, pledging to invest $2.4 billion into the Mon Valley Works.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
The explosion occurred Monday just before 11 a.m. and was followed by smaller explosions. The event reportedly occurred near coke oven batteries 13 and 14. Not long after the incident, U.S. Steel reported two people missing, one confirmed dead and several injured. By Monday evening, both missing workers had been found. One was pulled from the rubble approximately four hours after the blast and taken by helicopter to an area hospital. The second missing worker was found deceased, raising the number of deaths to two. Ten people were taken to hospitals, where as of Tuesday morning, five had been released and five remained in critical but stable condition.
The Clairton plant processes about 18,000 tons of coal each day, producing about 4.7 million tons of coke annually to be used in steelmaking blast furnaces by both U.S. Steel and other companies and industries. About 1,300 people work at the plant each day. The plant is part of the larger Mon Valley Works, which includes the Irvin and Edgar Thomson steel mills, about seven and 12 miles away down the Monongahela River, as well as the Fairless plant near Pittsburgh, which specializes in hot-dip galvanizing. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Plant Database can click here for the related plant profiles.
One of the deceased victims was Timothy Quinn, a 39-year-old father of three whose own father worked at one of the Mon Valley mills for 42 years, according to NBC News. While the extent of the damage is still being investigated, Kurt Barshick, vice president of the Mon Valley Works said Monday evening, "We will be making limited coke, but that's not our priority tonight."
In recent years, the plant has caused contention with area residents regarding its emissions. A 2018 fire at the plant knocked pollution controls offline, leading to a reported 4,500% increase in sulfur air pollution. A few years following the incident, U.S. Steel announced that it would close three of the plant's most-polluting coke oven batteries out of a total of 10. In 2024, a settlement regarding the 2018 fire-induced emissions release resulted in the closure of another battery (Battery 15) and tens of millions of dollars in upgrades to the plant's pollution controls. Still, elevated sulfur levels from the plant were reported as recently as June this year, when a control room that removes chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia was bypassed in order to perform repairs.
This week's explosion has caused groups responsible for the court settlement to continue to question the plant's safety and environmental statuses. "We need a full, independent investigation into the cause of this latest catastrophe and re-evaluation as to whether the Clairton plant is fit to keep operating," said David Masur, director of the statewide environmental advocacy group PennEnvironment, according to Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
The outcome of the investigation's results will fall not only to U.S. Steel, but also Japan's Nippon Steel (Tokyo, Japan), which in June cemented a $15 billion "partnership" with the iconic U.S. company, pledging to invest $2.4 billion into the Mon Valley Works.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
