{"id":116061,"date":"2026-02-17T14:13:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/116061\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T14:13:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:13:07","slug":"feds-flag-safety-at-u-s-steels-clairton-coke-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/116061\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds flag safety at U.S. Steel\u2019s Clairton Coke Works"},"content":{"rendered":"

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) \u2014 A federal safety agency investigating an August blast<\/a> at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh that left two workers dead said it found a series of incomplete, outdated or inadequate procedures and practices that \u201cexposed\u201d employees to the explosion, which happened as workers were flushing a gas valve.<\/p>\n

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company a total of $118,214 and issued 10 citations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s some of the best, Pulitzer-worthy local independent journalism in the States right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Public Source member Laura H.<\/p>\n

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The blast also injured 11 others, including contractors, according to the Chemical Safety Board, a federal agency investigating the explosion.<\/p>\n

Before the August blast, Clairton Coke Works<\/a> had a history of accidents and explosions, and some current and former workers there say poor management and underinvestment<\/a> have exacerbated air pollution and undermined workplace safety, Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source and The Associated Press have found<\/a>.<\/p>\n

U.S. Steel has said the explosion<\/a> happened when workers were flushing a gas valve in preparation for routine planned maintenance at the sprawling riverside industrial facility, the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n

The valve ruptured and released combustible coke oven gas, OSHA said.<\/p>\n

In the 16-page report dated Monday, OSHA said that U.S. Steel\u2019s written procedures, practices and training to safely maintain equipment and flush the gas valve were incomplete, outdated or inadequate.<\/p>\n

Those shortcomings, it said, \u201cexposed\u201d employees to an explosion or explosion hazard when the valve ruptured. Another citation said the U.S. Steel didn\u2019t provide required records within a specified time frame after the explosion.<\/p>\n

U.S. Steel, in a statement, said it was reviewing the OSHA report. It did not say whether it agreed or disagreed with the findings, or whether it would dispute them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue our dialogue with OSHA and other agencies involved,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The company has said that safety is a core value and shapes its culture.<\/p>\n

OSHA gave U.S. Steel deadlines to fix the perceived shortcomings. The agency lets a company contest the findings in an informal conference.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the United Steelworkers\u2019 district director, Bernie Hall, said the union was \u201cgrateful to OSHA for thoroughly investigating the tragic incident that cost two lives and impacted many others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are dedicated to working with management to implement OSHA\u2019s recommendations \u2014 especially those that incorporate process safety management \u2014 and continue our mission to make our workplaces safer,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

The Chemical Safety Board has said it continues to investigate.<\/p>\n

Kurt Barshick, U.S. Steel\u2019s vice president of the Mon Valley Works, said during an October presentation to area residents that workers trapped \u201c3,000 PSI water inside of a valve that\u2019s rated for 50 PSI.\u201d The valve cracked and gas filled the area, Barshick added.<\/p>\n

The blast came on top of a string of other accidents<\/a> at the Clairton plant over time, as well as a long history of legal battles between U.S. Steel and Allegheny County regulators, who regularly accuse the company of flouting environmental rules at the facility.<\/p>\n

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If you learned something new from this story, consider supporting us with a donation today. Your donation helps ensure that everyone in Allegheny County can stay informed about issues that impact their lives. Thank you for your support!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) \u2014 A federal safety agency investigating an August blast at a U.S. Steel plant near…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5466,73,75,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-116061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-leadstorynoshow","9":"tag-pittsburgh","10":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","11":"tag-pittsburgh-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}