Explosion At US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Kills 2, 10 Injured; Search For Answers Beings At 109-Year-Old Plant With A History Of Fatal Fires, Air Pollution Violations

At around 10:51 a.m. on August 11, 2025, a massive explosion at the US. Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works in Allegheny County killed two works and injured at least 10 more.

The 109-year-old Clairton Works had a long history of fatal explosions and accidents and consistently violated air pollution standards drawing multiple penalties from the Allegheny County Health Department which regulates the facility.

Rather than reproduce the news coverage of this catastrophic event, here are links to the media coverage from a variety of points of view.

The Explosion

-- Post-Gazette: 2 Workers Killed In Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Blast That Rocked Mon Valley; ‘Time-Consuming, Technical’ Probe Begins

-- AP: Explosion At US Steel Plant In Allegheny County Leaves 2 Dead, 10 Injured

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Deadly Explosion At US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Kills 2, Injures 10 In Latest Incident At Troubled Plant  [PDF of Article] 

-- TribLive: Authorities Identify 2nd Person Killed In US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- AP: Massive Rescue Effort Led To Pulling Workers From Debris Of US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion Site

-- Post-Gazette: How Multiple Emergency Response Teams United In Deadly US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Plant Explosion

-- The Allegheny Front: US Steel: Workers Were Preparing Maintenance Job Before Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- TribLive: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Employees Stay Focused Despite Deadly Blast

The Plant

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works, Site Of Monday’s Explosion, Has A History Of Problems 

-- Group Against Smog & Pollution Pittsburgh: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Has History Of Noncompliance With Air Pollution Standards

-- Post-Gazette: What To Know About The 109-Year-Old US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works, Site Of Deadly Explosion 

-- TribLive: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works, Site Of Deadly Explosions, Stirs Both Pride And Pain

-- TribLive: Other Recent Accidents At US Steel Clairton, Where Coke [Coal] Is Made At Near 2,000 Degrees 

-- TribLive: ‘Inherent Dangers’ Seen As Ever-Present In Steel Industry

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: US Steel CEO Affirms Commitment To Clairton Coke [Coal] Works After Deadly Blast

-- Post-Gazette: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion Could Mark Turning Point: ‘To Have These Incidents Every Few Years Is Just Not Acceptable’ To Nippon Steel

-- WSJ: US Steel Clairton Plant Explosion Presents Challenge To Nippon Steel’s Investment Plans 

Impacts

-- Post-Gazette: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Employee Describes Blast That Sounded Like ‘Two Trains Colliding’ - Then Silence 

-- The Allegheny Front - Julie Grant: A Worker’s Story Of The Deadly Explosion At The US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Plant

-- Post-Gazette: Lifelong Friends Mourn Man Killed In US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- Post-Gazette: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion Opens Deep Wound For Family, Co-Workers Of Men Killed In Blast  

-- Post-Gazette: Residents Describe Terror And Heartbreak Of Deadly Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: In Clairton, A Community Deals With Fatal Explosion At US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works

-- TribLive: What They’re Saying About Explosion At US Steel’s Clairton Coke [Coal] Works

Air Quality

-- Post-Gazette: After US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion, Air Quality Stayed Within Normal Range, Experts Caution That May Not Tell The Whole Story

-- AP: Air Quality Concerns Linger In Wake Of US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion 

-- Group Against Smog & Pollution Pittsburgh: Allegheny Health Dept., DEP, CMU Partner To Increase Air Quality Monitoring In The Mon Valley In Wake Of US Steel  Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion 

-- WESA: Allegheny County Deploys Mobile Air Quality Monitors Near US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works

-- TribLive: Allegheny County Steps Up Pollution Checks After US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- Post-Gazette: Inside DEP’s Mobile Lab That Tested Mon Valley Air Quality After US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- PennLive: PA Environmental Groups Address US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion: ‘The Issues Are Not Getting Better’

-- Breathe Project Statement On Tragedy At US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works

-- Physicians For Social Responsibility-PA Offers Residents Air Monitors Around Clairton Coke [Coal] Works

Search for Answers

-- Post-Gazette: Search For Answers Beings After Deadly Blast Rips Through US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works In Allegheny County 

-- TribLive: Tiny Federal Chemical Safety Board, Battling To Keep Funding, Launches Probe Of US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Work Explosion

-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: After Another Explosion At US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works, Advocates Call For Accountability

-- TribLive: US Steel Early Findings Pinpoint Gas Valve Failure As Cause Of Fatal Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Blast 

-- Post-Gazette: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Plant Workers Had Been Manipulating Valves Before Deadly Blast: ‘It’s Like A Gas Line In Your House’

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Clairton Works Explosion Demands Full Investigation, Attention From Tokyo

-- TribLive Editorial: Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion Is Moment Of Calm In Partisan Storm

Whatever Happened To

-- Whatever Happened To: DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Fire Resulted In Possible Release Of An Unknown Quantity Of 1,3-Butadiene And Benzene Into The Atmosphere In Beaver County In June  [PaEN] 

-- Whatever Happened To: Energy Transfer Reported An Uncontrolled Release Of Ethane For 9.5 Hours From Its Revolution Natural Gas Processing Plant Explosion/Fire In Washington County [PaEN] 

(Photo: Project Breathe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)

[Posted: August 17, 2025]  PA Environment Digest