Explosion at US Steel plant in Pennsylvania leaves 2 dead, 10 injured

 

 An explosion at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh left two dead and sent at least 10 to hospitals Monday and heavily damaged the sprawling facility, officials said.

One worker was found alive in the wreckage hours after the explosion sent black smoke spiraling into the midday sky in the Mon Valley, a region of the state synonymous with steel for more than a century. Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:51 a.m.

The explosion, followed by several smaller blasts, could be felt in the nearby community and prompted county officials to warn residents to stay away from the scene so emergency workers could respond.

“It felt like thunder,” Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, told WTAE-TV. “Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, and shook the building, and then when we saw the dark smoke coming up from the steel mill and put two and two together, and it’s like something bad happened.”

Cause under investigation

At a news conference, Scott Buckiso, U.S. Steel’s chief manufacturing officer, did not give details about the damage or casualties and said they were still trying to determine what happened. U.S. Steel employees “did a great job” of going in and rescuing workers, shutting down gases, and making sure the site was stable.

Buckiso said the company, now a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp., is working with authorities

U.S. Steel CEO David B. Burritt said the company would thoroughly investigate the cause.

“I end every meeting and every message with the words, ‘Let’s get back to work safely.’ That commitment has never been more important, and we will honor it,” he said in a statement.

Allegheny Health Network said it treated seven patients from the plant and discharged five within a few hours. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said it is treating three patients at UPMC Mercy, the region’s only level one trauma and burn center.

Clairton resident Amy Sowers was sitting on her porch, located less than a mile from the plant, and felt her house shake from the blast.

“I could see smoke from my driveway,” she said. “We heard ambulances and fire trucks from every direction.”

Sowers, 49, decided to leave the area after she said she smelled a faint smell in the air. Sowers, who grew up in Clairton, has seen several incidents at the plant over the years. Despite health concerns, Sowers said many residents cannot afford to leave.

A maintenance worker was killed in an explosion at the plant in September 2009. In July 2010, another explosion injured 14 employees and six contractors. According to online OSHA records of workplace fatalities, the last death at the plant was in 2014, when a worker was burned and died after falling into a trench.

After the 2010 explosion, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined U.S. Steel and a subcontractor $175,000 for safety violations. U.S. Steel appealed its citations and $143,500 in fines, which were later reduced under a settlement agreement.

“Lives were lost again,” Sowers said. “How many more lives are going to have to be lost until something happens?”

The Clairton coking plant continued to operate after the explosion, although two batteries that were the site of the explosion were shut down, officials said.

Air quality concerns and health warnings

The plant, a massive industrial facility along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, is considered the largest coking operation in North America and is one of four major U.S. Steel plants in Pennsylvania.

The plant converts coal to coke, a key component in the steel-making process. To make coke, coal is baked in special ovens for hours at high temperatures to remove impurities that could otherwise weaken steel. The process creates what’s known as coke gas — made up of a lethal mix of methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.

Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi said his heart goes out to the victims of Monday’s explosion.

“The mill is such a big part of Clairton,” he said. “It’s just a sad day for Clairton.”

The Allegheny County Health Department said it lifted an advisory it issued earlier in the day telling residents within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of the plant to remain indoors and close all windows and doors. It said its monitors have not detected levels of soot or sulfur dioxide above federal standards.

According to the company, the plant has approximately 1,400 workers.

The plant has a long history of pollution concerns

In recent years, the Clairton plant has been dogged by concerns about pollution.

In 2019, it agreed to settle an air pollution lawsuit for $8.5 million. Five years later, the company agreed to spend $19.5 million in equipment upgrades and $5 million on local clean air efforts and programs as part of settling a federal lawsuit filed by Clean Air Council and PennEnvironment, and the Allegheny County Health Department.

The lawsuit stemmed from a Christmas Eve fire in 2018 that caused $40 million in damage. The fire damaged pollution control equipment and led to repeated releases of sulfur dioxide, according to a lawsuit. In the wake of the fire, Allegheny County warned residents to limit outdoor activities, with residents saying for weeks afterward that the air felt acidic, smelled like rotten eggs, and was hard to breathe.

Dr. Deborah Gentile, the medical director of Community Partners in Asthma Care, studied asthma levels after the fire and found twice as many patients sought medical treatment. One of her colleagues found patients living near the plant had increased symptoms of asthma, including coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

News of the latest explosion had Gentile questioning how well the facility was being maintained.

“I’m very concerned that they aren’t keeping their equipment up to date and in shape,” she said.

In February, a problem with a battery at the plant led to a “buildup of combustible material” that ignited, causing an audible “boom,” officials said. Two workers received first aid treatment at a local hospital but were not seriously injured.

Environmental group calls for an investigation

David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, an environmental group that has sued U.S. Steel over pollution, said there needed to be “a full, independent investigation into the causes of this latest catastrophe and a re-evaluation as to whether the Clairton plant is fit to keep operating.”

In June, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel announced they had finalized a “historic partnership,” a deal that gives the U.S. government a say in some matters and comes a year and a half after the Japanese company first proposed its nearly $15 billion buyout of the iconic American steelmaker.

The pursuit by Nippon Steel for the Pittsburgh-based company was buffeted by national security concerns and presidential politics in a premier battleground state, dragging out the transaction for more than a year after U.S. Steel shareholders approved it.

Amid a blizzard of contradictory signals, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get any visibility on the U.S. labor market. But of all the numbers that feed into the all-important unemployment rate, the one worth paying most attention to may be continuing weekly jobless claims.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said that while he and his colleagues look at the "totality" of the data, the best gauge of the health of the labor market is the unemployment rate. That's currently 4.2%, low by historical standards, and consistent with an economy operating at full employment.

But it is a lagging indicator, meaning that once it starts to rise sharply, the economy will probably already be in a very precarious position. And it is also being depressed by labor demand and supply factors unique to the U.S.'s current high tariff, low immigration era.

LOW FIRE, LOW HIRE

Economic growth is slowing. Broadly speaking, it is running at an annual rate of just over 1%, half the pace seen in the last few years. Unsurprisingly, firms' hiring is slowing too.

The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed hiring in June was the weakest in a year, while July's nonfarm payrolls report and previous months' revisions were so disappointing that President Donald Trump fired the head of the agency responsible for collecting the data.

But the unemployment rate isn't rising, largely because firms aren't firing workers. Why? Perhaps because they are banking on tariff and inflation uncertainty lifting in the second half of the year. It's also possible that firms are still scared form the post-pandemic labor shortages.

Whatever the reason, the pace of layoffs simply has not picked up, the monthly JOLTS surveys show. Layoffs in June totaled 1.6 million, below the averages of the last one, two, and three years.

Meanwhile, lower immigration, increased deportations, and fewer people re-entering the labor force are offsetting weak hiring, thus keeping a lid on the unemployment rate. The labor force participation rate in July was 62.2%, the lowest since November 2022.

And what about weekly jobless claims, another key variable in the labor market picture? In previous slowdowns, rising layoffs would be reflected in a spike in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time.

That's not happening either. Last week's 226,000 initial claims were right at the average for the past year, and only a few thousand higher than the averages over the past two and three years.

"It's a low fire, low hire economy," notes Oscar Munoz, U.S. rates strategist at TD Securities.

REGULAR CHECK-UP

One high-frequency number that has gone under the radar, but which merits more attention, is continuing jobless claims, which measures the number of workers continuing to file for unemployment benefits after losing their jobs. Rising continued claims suggest people actively looking for a job are struggling to get one, a sign that the labor market could be softening.

That figure spiked last week to 1.97 million, the highest since November 2021, which in theory should put upward pressure on the unemployment rate.

Using the 'stock' versus 'flow' analogy, continuing claims are the 'stock,' and weekly claims are the 'flow'. Everyone will have their own view on what's more important, but right now, initial claims are offering no guidance while continuing claims are pointing to softening in the job market.

Fed officials are on alert, but what would move them to cut rates?

Munoz and his colleagues at TD Securities estimate that continuing claims of around 2.2 million would be consistent with an unemployment rate of 4.5%, a level of joblessness most economists agree would prompt the Fed to trim rates.

That's also the year-end unemployment rate in the Fed's last economic projections from June, a set of forecasts which also penciled in 50 bps of easing by December.

An unemployment rate of 4.4% would probably tip the balance on the Federal Open Market Committee, while 4.3% would make it a much closer call, perhaps a coin toss.

Further muddying the picture, other indicators suggest the labor market is ticking along nicely. July's payrolls report showed that average hourly earnings last month rose at a 3.9% annual rate, consistent with the level seen in the past year. And the average number of hours worked was 34.3 hours, right at the mean for the past two years.

These numbers and the JOLTS data are released monthly, and there will be one more of each before the Fed's September 16-17 policy meeting.

But if the increased focus on the unemployment rate means investors want a more regular labor market temperature check, they should keep a close eye on weekly continuing claims.

Thomas Dohmke announced on Monday that he will step down after nearly four years as CEO of GitHub, the coding platform central to Microsoft's efforts to streamline software development via artificial intelligence. Microsoft, which also owns LinkedIn, will fold GitHub into its CoreAI team under the leadership of Jay Parikh. Microsoft acquired GitHub in 2018 and has used it to develop AI Copilot tools that assist with coding. In his farewell message, Dohmke said he will stay on through the end of the year before becoming a startup founder.

Elon Musk's electric vehicle and energy firm Tesla, has applied to supply electricity to homes and businesses in the U.K. The application was submitted late last month to the energy regulator Ofgem, which can take up to nine months to process requests. If the bid is approved, the company could start operating in the U.K. energy market from as early as 2026. The application comes as Tesla's EV sales have stagnated and it has abandoned some of its driverless-tech pursuits.

Once beleaguered cinema chain AMC reported one of its strongest quarters since the pandemic scrambled the theatrical exhibition business, as a summer box-office surge allowed the company to cut its losses. Total revenue of around $1.4 billion beat expectations, and represented a 35% jump over last year. In addition to a solid summer blockbuster slate fueling a 26% rise in admissions, CEO Adam Aron cited improvements to facilities and projections for the boost in business.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order delaying higher tariffs on Chinese goods for another 90 days on Monday. The window for negotiations between the world's largest economies was set to close Tuesday, but now will remain open through Nov. 9. Trump also said on social media Monday that "Gold will not be Tariffed!" According to Bloomberg, the White House plans to issue an executive order clarifying the policy after a ruling that would be tariffed roiled markets.

The White House announced plans to nominate E.J. Antoni to be the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than two weeks after the controversial firing of former commissioner Erika McEntarfer. Currently, the chief economist of conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, Antoni, has been described as a critic of the BLS, which compiles widely used data on employment and inflation. The bureau was thrust into the spotlight when President Donald Trump called for McEntarfer's removal after the BLS issued dramatic revisions to previous jobs reports.

Hundreds of cabin crew members took their fight to major Canadian airports on Monday, picketing against unpaid labor, as talks on wages intensify between Air Canada AC.TO and its flight attendants this week, ahead of a possible strike.

A group of 700 mostly female flight attendants in crisp dark grey uniforms demonstrated at Toronto Pearson International Airport, donning signs with messages like "unpaid work won't fly," according to The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which said the contention is a key issue in contract talks with the carrier as a possible strike may come as early as August 16.

A walkout during the busy summer travel season would be a blow for Canada's largest carrier, which recently reported a drop in second-quarter profit, weighed down by weak passenger traffic to its key U.S. market.

The negotiations between Air Canada and the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants are further testing the way airlines compensate cabin crews, following earlier gains by cabin crews at some U.S. carriers.

Most airlines have paid cabin crew members only when planes are in motion. But in their latest contract negotiations, flight attendants in North America have sought compensation for hours worked, including for tasks like boarding passengers and waiting around the airport before and between flights.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents Air Canada flight attendants, has said it is also asking for higher pay for members, especially for recent recruits.

Air Canada said in a statement it remains at the bargaining table and is focused on achieving a negotiated settlement that would make its flight attendants the best paid in the country, while supporting the long-term growth of the company.

CUPE Strike Committee Chair Shanyn Elliott told reporters in Toronto that attendants perform an average of 35 unpaid work hours monthly for safety checks, boarding, deplaning, and passenger emergencies. She said their last contract was signed 10 years ago, so wages lag inflation, and some attendants rely on food banks or shared bunk rooms.

The demonstrations did not impact Air Canada's operations. Both sides have said they want to get a negotiated agreement.

Jim Ken, 73, an Air Canada passenger who is flying to Malta for vacation, told Reuters that he has sympathy for the workers, but is concerned about delays when he returns home in 11 days.

“I hope flight attendants get a fair contract, and they deserve it," he said. "I just hope everything goes smoothly... for both sides."

Jennifer Kozelj, press secretary to Canada's Minister of Jobs and Families, said both sides are working with federal mediators.

"We have faith in their ability to reach an agreement. Canadians expect them to work this out at the bargaining table."

 U.S. President Donald Trump upended decades of U.S. national security policy, creating an entirely new category of corporate risk, when he made a deal with Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab to give the U.S. government a cut of its sales in exchange for resuming exports of banned AI chips to China.

Historically, the U.S. government made decisions to control the export of sensitive technologies on national security grounds. Those decisions were viewed as non-negotiable; if a technology was controlled, companies could not buy their way around those controls, no matter how lucrative the foregone foreign sales.

On Monday, Trump raised the prospect of ending that era, saying he would allow Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China in exchange for the U.S. government receiving a 15% cut of the company's sales of some advanced chips in that country. He made a similar deal with Nvidia's smaller rival AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab.

He also told reporters he was open to allowing Nvidia to sell a scaled-down version of its current flagship Blackwell chips to China.

Months earlier, his own administration had banned the sale of H20 chips to China, reversing the decision in July as part of what the government said were negotiations on rare earths.

The latest move drew condemnation from U.S. lawmakers in both parties who warned that it risked creating a pay-for-play framework for the sale of sensitive technologies to U.S. adversaries, a concern echoed by analysts and legal experts.

"Export controls are a frontline defense in protecting our national security, and we should not set a precedent that incentivizes the government to grant licenses to sell China technology that will enhance its AI capabilities," said U.S. Representative John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the same committee, said that "by putting a price on our security concerns, we signal to China and our allies that American national security principles are negotiable for the right fee."

To be sure, the Trump administration has said the national security risks of resuming H20 sales are minimal because the chip was sold widely in China.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last month described the H20 as Nvidia's "fourth-best chip" in an interview with CNBC. He said it was in the U.S. interests for Chinese firms to keep using American technology.

LEGAL?

But the deal is extremely rare for the U.S. and marks Trump's latest intervention in corporate decision-making, after pressuring executives to invest in American manufacturing and demanding the resignation of Intel's INTC.O CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, over his ties to Chinese companies.

It is unclear whether Trump's move is legal.

The U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from levying taxes and duties on articles exported from any state. Trade lawyer Jeremy Iloulian said it is hard to tell if this would be considered an "export tax" or some other form of payment without knowing more about the agreement.

"Up until today, there has never been a consideration of how much companies need to pay to receive an export license," Iloulian said.

Added Kyle Handley, a professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy: "It sure looks like an export tax to me ... they can call it whatever they want. It really looks a lot like the government is skimming a little bit off the top."

When asked if Nvidia had agreed to pay 15% of revenue to the U.S., a company spokesperson said, "We follow rules the U.S. government sets for our participation in worldwide markets."

"While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide," the spokesperson added.

A spokesperson for AMD said the U.S. approved its applications to export some AI processors to China, but did not directly address the revenue-sharing agreement and said the company's business adheres to all U.S. export controls.

⁠“I think it's fair to say that everything now in this administration seems negotiable in ways that were not the case before," said Sarah Kreps, a professor at the Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University. "I don't think this is unique in that this will be the last kind of deal like this that we see.”

'SLIPPERY SLOPE'

Equities analysts said the levy could hit margins at chipmakers and set a precedent for Washington to tax critical U.S. exports. "It feels like a slippery slope to us," said Bernstein analysts, who expect the deal to cut gross margins on the China-bound processors by 5 to 15 percentage points, shaving about a point from Nvidia and AMD's overall margins.

"Naturally, not only chipmakers but also companies selling other strategic products to China will wonder if the remittance model could apply to their industries," said Hendi Susanto, a portfolio manager at Gabelli, which holds shares in Nvidia.

"For sellers of strategic products to China, remittance could be a burden - or a lifeline to preserve market access to huge and growing opportunities in China," Susanto said.

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