A cross-section of Batteries 13 and 14 is shown following the Aug. 11 explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. A coke battery, a large industrial structure, houses multiple slot-shaped ovens used to heat coal to 2,000 degrees to create coke for use in steelmaking. It was beneath that transfer area, in a confined space called the “basement,” that the high-pressure coke oven gas supply piping ran, feeding processed gas to both batteries. ‘Catastrophic hazard’According to the lawsuit, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires facility siting evaluations for plants like Clairton Coke Works. According to the complaint, Clairton Coke Work’s written procedures for exercising battery gas isolation valves allows for heating it with steam.

Source: The Star February 20, 2026 17:03 UTC