Officials are still investigating the cause of a Pennsylvania steel plant explosion that killed 2
'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.'
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Investigating the blast's cause
At a news conference, Scott Buckiso, U.S. Steel's chief manufacturing officer, did not give details about the damage or casualties, and said they were still trying to determine what happened. He said the company, now a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp., is working with authorities.
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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.
According to the company, the plant has approximately 1,400 workers.
In a statement, the United Steelworkers, which represents many of the Clairton plant's workers, said it had representatives on the ground at the plant and would work to ensure there is a thorough investigation.
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David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, an environmental group that has sued U.S. Steel over pollution, said there needed to be 'a full, independent investigation into the causes of this latest catastrophe and a re-evaluation as to whether the Clairton plant is fit to keep operating.'
U.S. Steel CEO David B. Burritt said the company would investigate.
It's not the first explosion at the plant. A maintenance worker was killed in a blast in September 2009. In July 2010, another explosion injured 14 employees and six contractors. According to online OSHA records of workplace fatalities, the last death at the plant was in 2014, when a worker was burned and died after falling into a trench.
After the 2010 explosion, 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 fines, which were later reduced under a settlement agreement.
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.
Air quality concerns
The plant, a massive industrial facility along the Monongahela River, 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.
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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, but lifted the advisory later Monday. It said its monitors didn't detect levels of soot or sulfur dioxide above federal standards.
The US Steel buyout
In June, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel announced they had finalized a 'historic partnership,' a deal that gives the U.S. government a say in some matters and comes a year and a half after the Japanese company first proposed its nearly $15 billion buyout of the iconic American steelmaker.
The pursuit by Nippon Steel for the Pittsburgh-based company was buffeted by national security concerns and presidential politics in a premier battleground state, dragging out the transaction for more than a year after U.S. Steel shareholders approved it.
Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Casey reported from Boston and Whittle reported from
Portland, Maine. Associated Press reporters Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, Beatrice Dupuy in New York City and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report.
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Melman, the co-founder's son who became president of the family-owned restaurant group in 2017 and added the CEO role this year, among the defendants. It characterizes the actions of Chicago's most prominent restaurant family as no less than a 'corporate coup' against its outside partners. 'Richard Melman, for his part, abandoned a friend of over 40 years, betrayed a business partner, and violated a shared legacy in favor of allowing R.J. to consolidate power, resources, and influence for their family's financial gain,' the lawsuit stated. 'This is a tragic end to a proud tradition of partnership, cuisine, connection, and accomplishment.' Lettuce Entertain You issued a statement Tuesday in response to the lawsuit. 'The allegations made by Mr. Centioli are without merit,' Lettuce Entertain You said. 'Beyond that, our policy is not to comment on pending litigation, but we look forward to sharing our side of the story.' Founded in 1971 by Melman and Jerry Orzoff, Lettuce hit it big with its first restaurant, the quirky R.J. Grunts in Lincoln Park, and the company has continued to break new culinary ground and expand its portfolio over the decades. While some names have come and gone, Lettuce owns, manages and licenses 60 brands in 12 states, with offerings ranging from fast casual to fine dining. The highly successful Joe's outposts in Chicago and two other cities, however, stand apart from the restaurant group and were never fully under the Lettuce Entertain You corporate umbrella. Launched in 2000, Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in River North was the first expansion of the legendary Miami restaurant, and the first venture for the fledgling ICON, which was composed of Centioli, Melman and a third partner, Michael Fox. ICON struck an exclusive licensing deal with the family that owns the century-old Joe's Stone Crab in Miami to bring the concept to other cities, subsequently adding restaurants in Las Vegas and Washington. The Miami import opened to rave reviews and large crowds in Chicago, and continues to do big business 25 years later. Centioli served as the inaugural president and CEO of ICON. Joe's Chicago entered into a management agreement where Lettuce Entertain You received a fee for operating the restaurant, with a portion paid to ICON, according to the lawsuit. A similar management deal was set up for Joe's Las Vegas, which opened in 2004. ICON's second venture was a January 2000 agreement to expand North Carolina-based Krispy Kreme to other markets, opening up a dozen locations of the beloved southern donut shop on the West Coast. In 2010, in the wake of the Great Recession, Rich Melman decided to slow down ICON's search for other brands to expand, focusing instead on Joe's, Krispy Kreme and the Lettuce portfolio, according to the lawsuit. The three partners then entered into an agreement under which Centioli sold Melman a portion of his indirect interest in the two Joe's restaurants, but continued as a manager of ICON. Centioli also ceded authority over restaurant personnel decisions, according to the lawsuit. As part of the 2010 agreement, Centioli gained the rights to ICON's intellectual property, and the partnership with Melman and Fox changed its name to Stone Dozen. In 2012, Centioni transferred his interests in Stone Dozen to ICONcepts, a corporate entity he created. The partnership between Stone Dozen and Lettuce began to deteriorate soon thereafter. When Joe's opened its Washington D.C. restaurant in January 2014, Lettuce launched it as a subsidiary, cutting Stone Dozen and its non-Melman partners entirely out of the deal, according to the lawsuit. By 2016, the disenfranchisement went one step further, excluding Centioli from all management income in the successful business partnership he helped build with Melman, according to a lawsuit. Centioli and Fox agreed to temporarily forgo Stone Dozen's management fees in 2016 and 2017 after Melman represented that Lettuce 'needs the fees' to help cover its costs, according to the lawsuit. 'It was not until 2024 that Lettuce informed Gerard that they always intended for Lettuce to keep the entire management fee for itself, permanently,' the lawsuit stated. Needing to raise cash to cover tax liabilities during what he believed to be a temporary cessation of management fees in 2016, Centioli's ICONcepts sold a portion of its equity in the Joe's Chicago and Las Vegas restaurants to Melman, along with some equity in Krispy Kreme, according to the lawsuit. In 2018, with both the Joe's restaurants and Krispy Kreme doing brisk business, Centioli approached Melman about 'putting ICON back together' and finding additional brands to add to the portfolio. Gerard and his son, Lauren Centioli, a partner in ICONcepts, began meeting with Rich and his son, R.J. Melman, to discuss the concept they dubbed ICON 2.0. In 2020, they created ICON Consulting as a subsidiary of Stone Dozen to explore new restaurant expansion opportunities. Topping the list was an effort to take Chicago steakhouse Gene & Georgetti's to other markets, following the successful model they created 20 years earlier with Joe's Stone Crab. In 2021, they formed a development partnership with the restaurant that never came to fruition, according to the lawsuit. Another matter for discussion with ICON 2.0 involved call rights, which allowed surviving members to buy out deceased partners' shares. With Centioli's stake vested in ICONcepts – a corporation that would never die – it became an issue for Rich Melman, who wanted to ensure he could pass his stake onto his son, according to the lawsuit. 'The Lettuce Defendants began to perceive betraying ICONcepts as a viable alternative to a good faith negotiation,' the lawsuit stated. 'They would wait, however, to act on this concern while stringing ICONcepts along.' Lettuce did make some concessions during the ICON 2.0 negotiations, notably awarding ICONcepts a 5% stake in Joe's Washington restaurant in 2022, along with a cash payment to cover the taxes associated with the transfer, according to the lawsuit. In December 2022, Gerard Centioli and R.J. Melman 'shook hands' on an ICON 2.0 agreement to settle back management fees and pay a fee/salary going forward to ICONcepts, according to the lawsuit. At that point, Stone Dozen was owed more than $4.3 million dollars, according to the lawsuit, with Centioli and ICONcepts entitled to a portion of that money. 'However, in violation of the Handshake Agreement, Lettuce continues to keep all management fees for itself, effectively embezzling millions of dollars in funds that it knew it was required to remit to Stone Dozen and/or ICONcepts,' the lawsuit states. The strained partnership went further south in 2024 with the corporate ascension of R.J. Melman at Lettuce and the expensive failure of Chicago restaurant Aba in Miami, the lawsuit alleges. Things came to a head earlier this year when R.J. Melman made it clear that he didn't share his father's belief in the ICON model, according to the lawsuit. 'This basic philosophical difference was laid bare at a January 4, 2025 negotiation in which R.J. asked Centioli rhetorically why he would settle for any structure that required sharing 50% with ICONcepts when Lettuce could instead go it alone and take 100% of the equity for itself,' the lawsuit stated. In February, Lettuce repudiated the handshake agreement and in March, formally 'terminated' Centioli, according to the lawsuit. The final salvo arrived on April 15, when Rich and R.J. Melman sent 'fake sale documents' to Centioli purporting to provide notice that ICONcepts had sold its interests in the three Joe's restaurants to Lettuce, according to the lawsuit. 'This sham transaction is the opus of the fraudulent scheme that Defendants conspired to foist upon ICONcepts, Gerard, and his children,' the lawsuit states. Accompanying the sale documents were cashier's checks payable to ICONcepts that 'grossly understated' the value of its interests in the Joe's restaurants, according to the lawsuit. The checks went uncashed and became void after 90 days. Last month, Lettuce deposited the money from the uncashed checks into an interest-bearing account on behalf of ICONcepts, but Centioli 'has never agreed that the buyouts were legally valid or appropriately calculated,' according to the lawsuit. On Friday, Centioli filed a 20-count breach of fiduciary duty and fraud lawsuit against Lettuce Entertain You and the Melmans seeking to declare the buyout transactions invalid, restitution for the restaurant group's unlawful gains and damages. A hearing is set for Oct.10 in Cook County Circuit Court.
