An explosion at a plant owned by US Steel, an icon of American industry, has killed 2. What to know
The plant, Clairton Coke Works, is one of four major plants in Pennsylvania owned by U.S. Steel, an icon of the domestic steel industry and American industrialization for over a century. The plant is in the Mon Valley, a region of the state synonymous with steel.
Here's what to know about the explosion:
Blast felt nearby
Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:50 a.m. The explosion, which was followed by several smaller blasts, sent black smoke spiraling into air.
The blast 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.
One worker was rescued from the smoldering rubble hours later.
Allegheny Health Network said it treated seven patients from the plant and discharged five within a few hours. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said it was treating three patients at UPMC Mercy, the region's only level one trauma and burn center.
Past explosions
The plant converts coal to coke, a key component in the steel-making process. It's the largest coking operation in North America.
Coke is made by baking coal in special ovens for hours at high temperatures, which removes 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 Coke Works, which has 1,400 workers, has had explosions and fatal accidents before:
1. In September 2009, a maintenance worker was killed in an explosion
2. In July 2010, an explosion injured 14 employees and six contractors. Afterward, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined U.S. Steel and a subcontractor $175,000 for safety violations. U.S. Steel appealed its citations and $143,500 in fines, which were later reduced under a settlement agreement.
3. The last death at the plant was in 2014, according to online OSHA records of workplace fatalities. A worker was burned and died after falling into a trench.
4. 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 but were not seriously injured.
Plant pollution concerns
After Monday's blast, the county health department initially told residents within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of the plant to remain indoors and close all windows and doors. The department lifted the advisory after its monitors didn't detect levels of soot or sulfur dioxide above federal standards.
In 2018, a Christmas Eve fire damaged pollution control equipment and led to repeated releases of sulfur dioxide, according to a subsequent lawsuit. The fire prompted Allegheny County to warn residents to limit outdoor activities. Residents said it was hard to breathe for weeks afterward and that the air felt acidic and smelled like rotten eggs. U.S. Steel settled the lawsuit last year with an agreement to spend $19.5 million in equipment upgrades and $5 million on local clean air efforts and programs.
Dr. Deborah Gentile, the medical director of Community Partners in Asthma Care, studied asthma levels after the fire and found twice as many patients sought medical treatment. One of her colleagues found patients living near the plant had increased symptoms of asthma, including coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.
In 2019, U.S. Steel agreed to settle a lawsuit regarding air pollution from Clairton for $8.5 million.
Monday Mornings
The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
A storied history and new ownership
U.S. Steel has been a symbol of industrialization since it was founded in 1901 by J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and others. It's been the icon of the American steel industry that once dominated the world market until Japan, then China, became preeminent steelmakers over the past 40 years.
Its steel has helped build everything from the United Nations building in New York City to the New Orleans Superdome.
Japan's largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel, in June finalized a deal to acquire U.S. Steel for nearly $15 billion. The agreement took more than a year to come together after U.S. Steel shareholders approved it as the parties surmounted obstacles created by national security concerns and presidential politics in a premier battleground state.
The deal includes what is known as a 'golden share' provision that gives the U.S. government the power to appoint a board member and a say in company decisions that affect domestic steel production and competition with overseas producers. The combined company is the world's fourth-largest steelmaker in an industry now dominated by China.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Province
7 hours ago
- The Province
New Zealand woman and son back home after three weeks in ICE custody
It's sweet freedom for Kiwi Sarah Shaw, finally released after visa snafu at Blaine border crossing landed her in a South Texas immigration processing centre New Zealand mother Sarah Shaw, 33, and her six-year-old son Isaac (front) remain detained in the U.S. after a brief trip to Vancouver to see off her eldest children. Photo by Victoria Besancon / Submitted A New Zealand woman who was scooped up alongside her six-year-old son by Blaine immigration officials three weeks ago, has been released, according to media reports. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The Guardian newspaper reported that Sarah Shaw and her son Isaac are back home in Washington State after a harrowing weeks-long experience in a South Texas immigration processing centre, where they were confined in a room with five other families. And all because of a clerical error. The 33-year-old, who has lived in Washington state for three years, has a valid American work permit as part of a 'combo card' visa. But the second half of the visa, which grants immigration status to domestic violence victims, was still being processed. Shaw came into Canada on July 24 to drop her two older children off at Vancouver International Airport for a flight home to visit their grandparents, then found herself detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She and her son were then shipped to the South Texas facility, which a family friend said was 'comparable to jail.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They were forced to share a bedroom with five other families and were locked in from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., not allowed to wear their own clothes, had very limited contact with the outside world, and didn't 'even have underwear.' 'Sarah has really been struggling with her anxiety. She's been trying to stay positive for her son, but it's been incredibly difficult for them,' family friend Victoria Besancon said during their detention. But the family is now home in Washington state, and taking time to settle in again after their ordeal before speaking about their experience. Shaw works for the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families, where she provides counselling and runs programs for youth at a maximum-security juvenile facility in Snoqualmie. With files from Sarah Grochowski Read More
Vancouver Sun
9 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
New Zealand woman and son back home after three weeks in ICE custody
A New Zealand woman who was scooped up alongside her six-year-old son by Blaine immigration officials three weeks ago, has been released, according to media reports. The Guardian newspaper reported that Sarah Shaw and her son Isaac are back home in Washington State after a harrowing weeks-long experience in a South Texas immigration processing centre, where they were confined in a room with five other families. And all because of a clerical error. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The 33-year-old, who has lived in Washington state for three years, has a valid American work permit as part of a 'combo card' visa. But the second half of the visa, which grants immigration status to domestic violence victims, was still being processed. Shaw came into Canada on July 24 to drop her two older children off at Vancouver International Airport for a flight home to visit their grandparents, then found herself detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She and her son were then shipped to the South Texas facility, which a family friend said was 'comparable to jail.' They were forced to share a bedroom with five other families and were locked in from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., not allowed to wear their own clothes, had very limited contact with the outside world, and didn't 'even have underwear.' 'Sarah has really been struggling with her anxiety. She's been trying to stay positive for her son, but it's been incredibly difficult for them,' family friend Victoria Besancon said during their detention. But the family is now home in Washington state, and taking time to settle in again after their ordeal before speaking about their experience. Shaw works for the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families, where she provides counselling and runs programs for youth at a maximum-security juvenile facility in Snoqualmie. With files from Sarah Grochowski
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump's aggressive push to take over DC policing may be a template for an approach in other cities
WASHINGTON (AP) — The left sees President Donald Trump's attempted takeover of Washington law enforcement as part of a multifront march to autocracy — 'vindictive authoritarian rule,' as one activist put it — and as an extraordinary thing to do in rather ordinary times on the streets of the capital. To the right, it's a bold move to fracture the crust of Democratic urban bureaucracy and make D.C. a better place to live. Where that debate settles — if it ever does — may determine whether Washington, a symbol for America in all its granite glory, history, achievement, inequality and dysfunction, becomes a model under the imprint of Trump for how cities are policed, cleaned up and run, or ruined. Under the name of his Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, Trump put some 800 National Guard troops on Washington streets this past week, declaring at the outset, 'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.' Grunge was also on his mind. 'If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty, and they don't respect us.' He then upped the stakes by declaring federal control of the district's police department and naming an emergency chief. That set off alarms and prompted local officials to sue to stop the effort. 'I have never seen a single government action that would cause a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive,' Police Chief Pamela Smith said. On Friday, the Trump administration partially retreated from its effort to seize control of the Metropolitan Police Department when a judge, skeptical that the president had the authority to do what he tried to do, urged both sides to reach a compromise, which they did — at least for now. Trump's Justice Department agreed to leave Smith in control, while still intending to instruct her department on law enforcement practices. In a new memo, Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the force to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. In this heavily Democratic city, local officials and many citizens did not like the National Guard deployment. At the same time, they acknowledged the Republican president had the right to order it because of the federal government's unique powers in the district. But Trump's attempt to seize formal control of the police department, for the first time since D.C. gained a partial measure of autonomy in the Home Rule Act of 1973, was their red line. When the feds stepped in For sure, there have been times when the U.S. military has been deployed to American streets, but almost always in the face of a riot or a calamitous event like the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Trump's use of force was born of an emergency that he saw and city officials — and many others — did not. A stranger to nuance, Trump has used the language of emergency to justify much of what he's done: his deportations of foreigners, his tariffs, his short-term deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, and now his aggressive intervention into Washington policing. Washington does have crime and endemic homelessness, like every city in the country. But there was nothing like an urban fire that the masses thought needed to be quelled. Violent crime is down, as it is in many U.S. cities. Washington is also a city about which most Americans feel ownership — or at least that they have a stake. More than 25 million of them visited in 2024, a record year, plus over 2 million people from abroad. It's where middle schoolers on field trips get to see what they learn about in class — and perhaps to dance to pop tunes with the man with the music player so often in front of the White House. Washington is part federal theme park, with its historic buildings and museums, and part downtown, where restaurants and lobbyists outnumber any corporate presence. Neighborhoods range from the places where Jeff Bezos set a record for a home purchase price to destitute streets in economically depressed areas that are also magnets for drugs and crime. In 1968, the capital was a city on fire with riots. Twenty years later, a murder spree and crack epidemic fed the sense of a place out of control. But over the last 30 years, the city's population and its collective wealth have swelled. A cooked-up emergency? Against that backdrop, Philadelphia's top prosecutor, District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, assailed Trump's moves in Washington. 'You're talking about an emergency, really?' Krasner said, as if speaking with the president. 'Or is it that you're talking about an emergency because you want to pretend everything is an emergency so that you can roll tanks?' In Washington, a coalition of activists called Not Above the Law denounced what they saw as just the latest step by Trump to seize levers of power he has no business grasping. 'The onslaught of lawlessness and autocratic activities has escalated,' said Lisa Gilbert, co-chair of the group and co-president of Public Citizen. 'The last two weeks should have crystallized for all Americans that Donald Trump will not stop until democracy is replaced by vindictive authoritarian rule.' Fifty miles northeast, in the nearest major city, Baltimore's Democratic mayor criticized what he saw as Trump's effort to distract the public from economic pain and 'America's falling standing in the world.' 'Every mayor and police chief in America works with our local federal agents to do great work — to go after gun traffickers, to go after violent organizations,' Brandon Scott said. 'How is taking them off of that job, sending them out to just patrol the street, making our country safer?' But the leader of the D.C. Police Union, Gregg Pemberton, endorsed Trump's intervention — while saying it should not become permanent. 'We stand with the president in recognizing that Washington, D.C., cannot continue on this trajectory,' Pemberton said. From his vantage point, 'Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits.' The Home Rule Act lets a president invoke certain emergency powers over the police department for 30 days, after which Congress must decide whether to extend the period. Trump's attempt to use that provision stirred interest among some Republicans in Congress in giving him an even freer hand. Among them, Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee drafted a resolution that would eliminate the time limit on federal control. This, he told Fox News Digital, would 'give the president all the time and authority he needs to crush lawlessness, restore order, and reclaim our capital once and for all.' Which raises a question that Trump has robustly hinted at and others are wondering, too: If there is success in the district — at least, success in the president's eyes — what might that mean for other American cities he thinks need to be fixed? Where does — where could — the federal government go next? ___ Associated Press writer Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
