By Joseph De Avila

The CEO of U.S. Steel defended the safety record of the company the day after a deadly blast at one of its Pennsylvania plants killed two people and injured 10.

The Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Pa., roughly 15 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, will continue operating while investigators try to uncover the cause of the explosion, David Burritt, chief executive of U.S. Steel, said Tuesday.

"There is no risk at this point in time," Burritt said at a news conference.

"If there were to become a risk, we would obviously shut it down immediately."

The Clairton plant bakes coal at high temperatures into a pure carbon form. The coke from the Clairton plant is used in U.S. Steel's blast furnaces where iron ore is turned into liquid iron that is used to make steel.

The explosion occurred in an area where workers were baking the coke, said Scott Buckiso, an executive vice president at U.S. Steel. Another group of workers nearby were starting on a routine maintenance project, he said.

Burritt said U.S. Steel was committed to having a transparent investigation on the cause of the explosion. He said he wouldn't speculate on how the blast occurred.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office on Tuesday identified one of the people killed in the blast as Timothy Quinn, 39 years old.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said Quinn was a second-generation steelworker who followed in his father's footsteps. He was also a father of three who served as a mentor to other steelworkers at the plant, Shapiro said.

"His life was cut too short because of what happened at this plant," Shapiro said.

The other blast victim hasn't been publicly identified.

Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2025 15:44 ET (19:44 GMT)

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