Public sentiment is overwhelmingly negative, characterized by outrage, sorrow, and strong criticism of corporate negligence and outdated safety practices. Commenters express deep concern for the victims and a call for accountability from both industry and government, emphasizing the need for stricter regulations to prevent future tragedies.

U.S. Steel

Federal Government

State Regulators

OSHA

Some sites report one dead and dozens injured or trapped.

https://6abc.com/post/explosion-clairton-coke-works-us-steel-coking-plant-pennsylvania-leaves-people-trapped-rubble-live/17502365/

unknown_human

Jesus

I was interviewing for a maintenance position at this plant about a year ago

Brandonthbed

[The air quality is at 2375](https://imgur.com/gallery/clairton-coke-works-allegheny-county-pa-air-quality-3-hours-after-explosion-6nllg3d) (stay indoors with shut windows and the HVAC off\*) at the area right now. The r/pittsburgh thread has some discussion from people who work there and live in the area (I'm from the city but not close to the CCW). The plant has been in disrepair and disarray for years and years, but apparently they don't think they can restart it once it's shut down, so they just... don't do any serious maintenance that would require shut down.

This has been coming for a long, long time.

^(\*Reading up on the warnings on the government site says 'use HEPA filters on HVAC units' so I think that's where the person I was quoting from another sub got it from I guess.)

darsynia

Too bad the CSB won't be around to investigate.

Quaeras

They just updated it: 2 dead, 5 still in the hospital, in critical condition but stable and 5 were treated and released. I live about 40 minutes from the plant

LivasaurasRex

The kind of industrial accident the Chemical Safety Board would make an informative video about so the public could learn just how these kinda accidents happen. The current mouthbreathers in office want to shutter the organization.

niberungvalesti

What’s the white smoke to the right? Is it related?

SoaDMTGguy

Bad. **:/**

1 dead, 10 injured and 1 unaccounted for, [so far](https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/pennsylvania-us-steel-explosion-08-11-25).

Hanginon

Too bad there won't be a CSB video to tell us what happened.

agoia

Clairton? Is this the plant from Deer Hunter?

Beetreezy

reddit tought me: no colored smoke = no danger

nighteeeeey

Farstone

Wonder if they were cutting corners on safety? Very dangerous field, even under good practices it's not uncommon to have someone die every 10 years or so at any given steel mill.

Negan1995

SexThrowaway1126

Hopeful-Pomelo4488

par-a-dox-i-cal

crazyclue

ppm off the chart 

https://map.purpleair.com/air-quality-standards-us-epa-aqi?opt=%2F1%2Flp%2Fa10%2Fp604800%2FcC0#12.2/40.28552/-79.8812

tehsecretgoldfish

Removal of USCSB and further dismantlement of the social safety net by the foreign terrorist pedophile Trump seems to be working well.

TheYearOfThe_Rat

Yeah,  let's get rid of those job killing regulations.

layne54

This can't be good for the Breathe Project.

Blair_Beethoven

HotHorst

hawksdiesel

Waiting for the USCSB video in several months or years. This seems to be exactly the type of event they would do an in depth investigation on.

M5K64

https://www.publicsource.org/trump-rally-west-mifflin-centers-us-steel-nippon-deal/

This June 2025 acquisition of US Steel bt Japanese Nippon Steel had to be approved by the government.

The same government that seems to give the greenlight to any acquisition that bends the knee.

" Japanese Nippon Steel’s big commitment to American steelmaking bolsters the identities — and maybe the finances — of towns like Clairton, Braddock and West Mifflin. Some hope for more: clean air, revitalization." - May 2025

aspiringlinda

Strange this happens just after the merger. A conspiracy theorist would think that Nippon is trying to put a low performing plant out of commission in a way that the Federal government can't stop it.

JustFuckAllOfThem

My friend and I live just across the river from this and it shook his house. My Mom's work isn't far away from this and the shockwave shook her place as well. 

I'm worried about the release of toxins, this mill is infamous for pollution and has had disasters that released sulfur and anhydrous ammonia and other things.

baba-O-riley

Secondary explosion just reported on the scanner

renla9

Who could have seen this coming? Certainly not the inspectors who fined them repeatedly over the years for air &amp; safety violations.

Madcap_Miguel

This is turning out to be one helluva fuckin Monday

JCC0

Apparently this plant has had a few issues over the years. 

Just so sad. We should be better then that. How can a company ignore a massive fire and multiple violations. Should be investigated and charged.

PULSARSSS

I worked there in the late 90s

Place is a death trap.

SerDuckOfPNW

I look forward to the upcoming "Well there's your problem" episode. 

But I mourn the loss of the Chemical Safety Board and their excellent video recreations. 

I hope the workers can be rescued and there are no major injuries, of course.

MrPBH

No shit. These plants are like 100 years old and the owners rather squeeze every last cent out of the plant at the expense of the workers rather than modernize them. 

And miss me with this Japan deal shit. I wasn’t born yesterday and I don’t expect billionaire owners from a different country are gonna behave differently.

SkiHistoryHikeGuy

This place is less than 10 miles from a big National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) campus. Unsurprisingly, many jobs were cut from there by the Trump regime.

This area of the country has been a bloody battleground for occupational safety for over a century and it feels like we’re losing the battle right now.

catmoon

My husband got cancer from the benzene released from the Indiana coke battery. This is scary and too close to home for me. 

All for the shareholders.

booshie

Coke making is crazy dangerous, even with all the automation these days. Let's hope this ends well.

ZonaDesertRat

If watching a bunch of CSB (Chemical Safety Board) videos has taught me one thing, its that the investigation will find that safety measures were not being followed, repeated warnings were ignored, cost cutting happened, all of the above really.

natedoggcata

The news today is really making it seem like we are going backwards in time.

CaptainLawyerDude

Damn, I remember seeing the plant as a child and I was totally blown away by how massive it was and the shift change siren at night. If it's out of commission for a significant period, that's going to be brutal for the surrounding area economically.

An_Average_Andy

I live close to this, and we felt the explosion here a few miles away.

Also if you go outside, it smells like burning plastic.

This plant has been under scrutiny for years, and the pollution coming out of the plant is so bad people have moved away.

This is tragic, but not really surprising.

CrazyDude10528

As Trump guts regulations, expect more and more of this.  

Any working class American who voted for Trump- THIS is what you've voted for. For you, your community, your kids.

And Trump's just getting starting shitting all over the things that keep you able to come home to your family alive and in 1 piece.

sarcastroll

Don Jr volunteering to go clear the rubble single-handedly.

restore_democracy

Well..  I guess those steel tarriffs are gonna be felt now!

mgnorthcott

Sure glad trump got rid of all those pesky health and safety rules/standards that owners had to follow...

IntrinsicPalomides

Cutting safety inspections and deregulating dangerous work sites to own the libs

Nyhzel

damn I cant wait for the USCSB video about this

Bowman_van_Oort

I believe this is the same plant that the cast of the movie The Deer Hunter worked in

marx2k

Suddenly I’m glad I’m out of town for the week. I live up the river and we get a lot of the smells from Clairton Coke Works, and I assume the pollution as well.

mysecondaccountanon

This is what happens when you lay off the oversight

NUMBerONEisFIRST

Wonder what happened 

Too bad the department responsible for investigating just got shut down.

SMF1996

Donald Junior beat the first responders to the scene, he heard there was a problem at the Coke factory.

RebelliousInNature

Steel Companies: “We are on your side!”

RoadandHardtail

The aftermath is going to be a second disaster. Because you know the federal government isn't going to help in any way.

HuoLongHeavy

Prayers that the PA steel plant employees escape from the rubble.

Reddit_2_2024

I most sincerely hope that everybody is OK and recoverable.

didn’t that guy just post yesterday about how the coal plants in West Virginia we’re starting to shut down because the coking furnaces weren’t going to be used as much in the future?

There was some high-efficiency … I think he said ESF type of furnace that was going to reduce the need for coal?

Weird timing

Fairycharmd

japinard

I love the things that happen when we nuke regulation and workplace safety from orbit. 😣

This is terrible.

ncc74656m

Regulations? We don’t need no stinking regulations!

cdbutts

Yesterday, I was reading a post about how US new steel production has been declining and coking coal mines are laying off...

BlazedGigaB

ro536ud

beadzy

Of course, some "mysterious explosion" happens at one of US Steel's oldest plants soon after the sale closes.

They will release some BS statement about remembering and honoring the dead and then in a few months when this is forgotten about, they'll announce the damage is too extensive to fix and that they're "forced" to shutter the plant.

Dingo8MyBabyMon

God those poor people who
Just went into work thinking it’d be another normal day.

Human_Software_1476

Better federalize the area and bring in the national guard.

JtassleJohnny

Yay American steel is finally ramping up on production. Oops CEO’s have been looting the industry and not investing into upgrades for the past 30 years.

Living-Particular123

Jendaye

TheMooseIsBlue

I really hate to* see news that there will most likely a Plainly Difficult episode about. I wish safety upon the responders and solace to the victims.

lianamtf

whats with most american buildings being rigged to blow up for no reason?

FernandoMM1220

My guess is the new owners will shut the plant down now. Mission accomplished.

Erkzee

Oh wow who could have seen any of this coming when we have an administration that has happily deregulated or threatened to deregulate everything.

trash_bae

Upcoming Fox News headline: DEI hire at US Steel leads to massive explosion.

Cedric_T

Zero shock that they had previous violations. It's almost as if regulations exist for a reason or something...

Creative-Package6213

I used to work at the steel mill in Erie in the 90s. Nobody cared about safety there. They were throwing all kinds of chemicals into the melted steel without any kind of protection. They wore that like a badge of honor. Thought it showed how tough they were. 

A lot of them had serious issues with their lungs from all that shit in the air. Many probably dying in their 50s and 60s from it. I walked in area once without a respirator and it burned my lungs. One dude laughed and said you'll get used to it. 

Half the dudes wouldn't wear the PPE at all when the bosses weren't around. When they were told to wear it, they act like you just called them a sissy boy or something and get highly offended. 

The bosses really didn't give a shit unless OSHA was coming in. Management was terribly corrupt anyway and didn't care about the workers at all. When the place was going bankrupt the bosses gave themselves fat raises so they could legally raid the pension fund and steal all the workers pensions. So many lives destroyed by that place.

PalpatineForEmperor

Polyman71

I wonder what happened. Old equipment failure? Or over worked employees? Or just an unfortunate event.

atlashoth

i did a phase I ESA on this site like 2 years ago. had a lot of RECs. not surprised but very tragic :(.

turtlerepresentative

Keep taking away regulations, and there will be more of these.

Spare-Way7104

This is why I’m getting my Heavy Equipment License so my kids can go to college and not suffer in life

BigBoyDrewAllar_15

This is the steel plant trump allowed a foreign company to buy?

BalmyBalmer

yeahyeah123456789101

As MAGA wants to dismantle OSHA.... 

They really love watching people get hurt &amp; potentially die, huh?

regular_sized_fork

Funny; I don’t remember ever seeing a wind farm explode. Guess there’s still time.

Intrepid-Plastic-439

[https://youtu.be/e4y802\_Ot-k](https://youtu.be/e4y802_Ot-k)

TheHappyPoro

Danielkperez312

Between this and gas plants burning, is this intentional or accidental?

RegularInflation6433

Won’t be long till Trump sends in the national guard to Pennsylvania.

Duper-Deegro

GrowFreeFood

youcantwin1932

A sad day in western PA. Condolences to the family and friends of the two who went to work and won’t come home.

IslandDreamer58

I was reading about this to add information to Wikipedia, and the sad thing is nothing might come from this. They have an array of these batteries, and in the past, they've just shut certain ones down instead of spending on upgrades.

https://www.publicsource.org/mon-valley-clairton-us-steel-coke-works-pollution-f-grade-air-quality/

&gt;Mon Valley workers had concerns. “Everything is being run to failure,” said one worker, according to a slide from the McKinsey presentation. “The guys here want to do a good job, but the bosses want them to hurry up to make more coke,” said another worker. “We have lots of ’temporary repairs’ that become permanent … we are not good at coming back and doing the repair right,” said a third worker.

Yikes

https://www.publicsource.org/clairton-steel-coke-health-department-lawsuit-irvin-works-fire-pollution/

Whether they do anything about it might depend on how badly the building is damaged. Otherwise, they might be able to just clean up the debris and continue business as usual, minus one or two batteries.

shiverypeaks

This is the kind of workers safety issues you read about in high school back in the 1900-1930s…..we lost our balls to fight for each other - the working people

rerro23

So basically this place doesn't shut down until every coke battery explodes and how many people die and untold pollution. Very cool, Pennsylvania!

LostEnroute

Damn, was hopeful when they found the first missing worker earlier.

CrayZ_Squirrel

I really hope the families of those killed and the workers who were injured get to sue the company for negligence or something. Sounds like the higher-ups have been running a slapdash operation for a while. There should be consequences

The_Actual_Sage

I really don't think the jobs this place provides is worth the troubles it causes. Pollution, the smells, now this? I don't think our area needs it anymore, and if we have to have it then it should be modernized and improved. The status quo shouldn't continue.

Previous-Kangaroo145

And sadly, no CSB investigation to help make sure it doesn't happen again. 

NIOSH being cut; OSHA being cut.
Safety regulations were written in blood and were seeing them rolled back so this sort of tragedy will keep happening

raresanevoice

History3635

An explosion at a U.S. Steel plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania, killed two workers and injured at least ten.

U.S. Steel Plant Explosion in Pennsylvania

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