3 Clairton Coke Works batteries to shut down

U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works will shut down three batteries this month, fulfilling a 2021 commitment to reduce emissions.

The company will begin to shut down three of its most productive batteries — 1, 2 and 3 — on March

27. The action will affect around 125 workers, according to United Steelworkers Local 1557 President Don Furko.

“It’s sad to see it go,” Furko said. “I worked on those batteries years ago. But the positive thing is that there won’t be layoffs — no one’s getting put out on the street.”

Furko said the mill plans to redistribute the displaced workers across its remaining six operating batteries. He added that some batteries will remain on hot idle in case workers need to boost output in the future.

“There’s been some tension,” he said. “There’s some anxiety about losing positions. But we’ve made it so nobody will lose their job.”

In 2021, U.S. Steel canceled more than $1.2 billion in upgrades to the Mon Valley Works, which includes the mills in Clairton, West Mifflin and Braddock. The investment would have brought modern, environmentally friendly casting and rolling technology to the region’s primary manufacturer.

Upgrades would have also added a cogeneration plant, which can utilize coke oven steam and gas to create electricity, forming a new power source for the Valley plants.

After an initial $170 million investment into the upgrades, the company decided to scrap the project, opting to reduce emissions through shutting down the batteries. Local leaders showed frustration after the company backed out of the promised improvements. Many expressed a desire for reduced emissions while maintaining jobs and the company’s legacy in the region.

COKE WORKS • A2 FROM A1 “Right or wrong, we need U.S. Steel, we need steelworkers and we need clean air,” state Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, said at the time.

Leaders often recall the collapse of the steel industry in the 1970s and 1980s as a time of poverty and shrinking opportunity.

“We have to be mindful of the potential for job loss,” Brewster said in 2021. “If we lose those jobs, you’re going to see poverty that you don’t want to see again.” The paring down of the Clairton mill comes as it continues to receive emissions fines from the Allegheny County Health Department. In December 2022, the company received a $458,000 penalty after allegedly violating air pollution control regulations.

In June 2021, the ACHD issued a $200,000 fine to the mill for air pollution and permit violations.

In early 2022, the company at large received around $4.6 million in fines for hydrogen sulfide emission, pollution and permit violations related to the Clairton mill. County health officials said the penalty was for “uncontrolled pushing,” or emissions during coke transport and cooling.

Health officials said they looked from January 2020 to March 2022, wherein they alleged 831 violations occurred.

According to Penn Environment, the Clairton plant is the third-biggest air polluter in Allegheny County. Some local environmental nonprofits, like Clean Water Action, have suggested that Batteries 1-3 closing may improve air quality in the Mon Valley by up to 17%. Despite continued charges of pollution and permit violations, U.S. Steel and the Clairton Works have been recognized as philanthropic agents to the area.

An agreement between ACHD and U.S. Steel stipulates that 90% of fines paid to the Clairton mill goes directly into local community health projects. The remaining 10% goes to the county’s Clean Air Fund.

According to the company’s website, the agreement has helped fund school lunch programs, local scholarships, public space improvements and other community projects.

This month, U.S. Steel was recognized by corporate ethics company Ethisphere as one of the world’s most ethical companies. “It is one of only two honorees in the Metals, Minerals & Mining industry,” the company press release said. “In 2023, 135 honorees were recognized spanning 19 countries and 46 industries.”

According to the release, the company has also been recognized as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” by the Disability Equality Index and a “Most Loved Workplace” by Best Practice Institute and Newsweek magazine.

Despite this, local environmental nonprofits like the Breathe Project have accused the mill of skirting around changing its environmental impact through paying out for penalties and philanthropy.

“This history of paying fines instead of reducing emission violations indicates a willingness of U.S. Steel to operate the Clairton Coke Works in a ‘pay to pollute’ relationship with ACHD,” Matthew Mehalik, Breathe Project executive director, said in a news release following a fine in December.

Furko emphasized that Local 1557 strives for clean air and safe working conditions for its members.

“We’ve consistently pushed for better emissions and air quality,” Furko said. “And I think we’re not on a bad path. We’ve pushed for safer facilities. We’ve pushed to comply with OSHA regulations. We’ve partnered with the Sierra Club. We have decades of working in the community.

“The process of making coke has more or less stayed the same for a hundred years. And even in the 23 years I’ve been here I’ve seen major improvements. In the ’70s, it smelled, there was haze all the time. It’s not like that anymore. It’s a lot better now than it was then.”