A federal safety agency recommended the development of written policies and procedures for flushing gas valves a year after a blast at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh killed two workers.The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board issued a final report into the August 2025 blast at Clairton Coke Works, which also injured 11 others, including contractors.U.S. Steel has said the explosion happened when workers were flushing a gas valve with pressurized water in preparation for routine planned maintenance at the sprawling riverside industrial facility, the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The valve ruptured under intense pressure and released combustible coke oven gas.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration previously fined the company a total of $118,214 and issued 10 citations. OSHA had said that U.S. Steel’s written procedures, practices and training to safely maintain equipment and flush the gas valve were incomplete, outdated or inadequate.
The Chemical Safety Board report recommended that U.S. Steel develop a written procedure for washing valves with pressurized water in order to minimize the operation’s hazards. It also recommended that an industrial cleaning contractor which used a pump truck to apply pressurized water to the valve develop written policies and procedures for cleaning piping systems containing flammable or toxic gas, and train its workers in such operations. The Chemical Safety Board report found that when a valve would not close fully, U.S. Steel had a practice of injecting steam or high-pressure water into the cleanout port in an attempt to remove residue.
