A deadly explosion at a coke manufacturing facility last August was the product of improper maintenance, inadequate siting and decades of ignored safety concerns, according to a federal investigation released Monday.
The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s report comes one year after an explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works facility near Pittsburgh killed two workers and injured 11 others.
“This deadly incident was the result of an ad hoc informal procedure, poor facility siting, and an ineffective process safety management system at the Clairton facility,” CSB Chair Steve Owens said in a statement. “It should never have happened.”
Workers at the facility had spent years using high-pressure water to clean valves without a written standard procedure. Pressurized water increased beyond the valve’s capacity, causing it to burst, which released toxic, flammable coke oven gas that soon ignited and exploded.
