Speaker 1 (00:08):
Everybody in place?
(00:20)
Hi everybody. Thanks for coming. We're going to have a very quick press update. Scott Buckiso from US Steel is going to start us off. Then we'll have a few speakers from Allegheny County, including county executive, Sara Innamorato and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis. Take a couple quick questions at the end, but this is just an informational update. So I'm sure there'll be a lot of questions we can't get into at the time. For now, I'll bring Scott up to the podium.
Scott Buckiso (00:46):
Thanks, everybody. Around 10:50 this morning, we did have an incident between our 13 and 14 batteries here at the Clairton Coke facility, one explosion. Obviously this is an active scene and still an active investigation.
(01:07)
Our employees did a great job of making sure that we went in and rescued everybody that was involved, safely shut down all of the gases and utilities, and the plant is stable. But as I said, it is still an active investigation. Our hearts go out to our employees. Safety is our number one priority every day, every shift, 365.
(01:34)
So obviously this is a tragedy that we want to understand. We're under the investigation, and we will continue to work, not only with the folks behind me, but the families of those that have been affected. Our hearts go out to them. Our employees, we have employee assistance program that we have set up at the local union hall for anybody that wants to stop in and talk to anybody there as well.
(02:03)
I would also like to thank our US Steel EMS, and all the communities, all the surrounding communities, EMS and Fire, that have come and helped in making sure that everybody got out of here as safe as possible today. Thank you.
Matt Brown (02:29):
Good afternoon. I'm Matt Brown, chief of the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services. As Mr. Buckiso had stated about 10:50 was their initial response. Our first call to Allegheny County 911 was 10:51. So very quickly behind that. As Scott had mentioned, they have their internal departments to respond to those emergencies. And the municipal agencies, our department included, are always here to support them.
(02:57)
It looks like from the overall response, about 20 EMS agencies have assisted at this point, and about 14 fire departments. And again, these are all external to the plant. All four divisions of my department are involved and engaged. Allegheny County 911, the fire marshal's office is here to investigate origin and cause, which we're obviously very early stages of that. Our fire training academy and our emergency management staff are all here to assist as well.
(03:27)
And again, our role here is just to help coordinate the incident overall. As you can imagine, it's a very hot day. It's very tasking to all the emergency responders, both US Steel and municipal. The good news is they work together very often. A lot of times they switch different hats. Many of them are volunteers at the same department. So it is a brotherhood, sisterhood, if you will, of emergency responders who really take it to heart what they're doing right now. Their efforts are very focused on rescue at this point. We are still engaged in the incident. It is continuing to be ongoing.
(04:03)
I think that's about all the details I have at this moment. Again, our focus right now is just continuing our search for one unaccounted person at this point. That's all I have. Victor, do you have any?
Victor Joseph (04:21):
Afternoon, Victor Joseph, assistant superintendent, Allegheny County Police. First off, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims today, the workers here at the [inaudible 00:04:34] and their families. We were requested by Clairton Police Department for an industrial accident. We provide those investigative services to municipalities throughout the county when needed.
(04:47)
It was an active scene. It's still an active scene. When we got here, it was a rescue mission, still a rescue mission. Initially there were two unaccounted for individuals. Within the past hour one of those individuals was rescued, has been transported to a local hospital. So we're happy to say that. There is one deceased as of right now, and now a total of 10 injured.
(05:11)
Our department, along with the fire marshal and the ATF conduct the investigation. Like I said, it's still an active scene right now, so this will be a time-consuming technical investigation that, it's going to take some time. I want to thank our local law enforcement partners for their assistance today, and thank the media for their attention in this matter. Thank you.
Sara Innamorato (05:40):
So I will echo the sentiment that our thoughts are with United Steelworkers District 10 members and all employees at US Steel today, their families, and in the community of Clairton and the entire Mon Valley. I want to thank the first responders for their work and efforts today. And thank you to the leadership we have at the county, through Allegheny County Emergency Services, and the Allegheny County Police who you heard from just a moment ago.
(06:08)
Working together with US Steel and with their full cooperation and transparency, we aim to get to the bottom of the origin of what caused this explosion and prevent it from ever happening again.
(06:23)
We also are deeply concerned about the community surrounding this facility. So I do want to touch on what Allegheny County Health Department issued earlier today. They are actively monitoring this explosion on site, and they're working in coordination with our emergency responders. And out of an abundance of caution, we advise residents within one mile of the plant to remain indoors, close all windows and doors, set HVAC systems to recirculate, and avoid activities that draw in outside air, such as exhaust fans. The Allegheny County Health Department air quality monitors have not detected a rise in PM 2.5 or sulfur dioxide above federal standards, and we will put out additional information as it becomes available to the public.
(07:25)
So again, thank you to all our first responders and those involved in the rescue and recovery initiatives today. And I will pass it over to Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis to close us out.
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis (07:41):
Thank you, County Executive Innamorato. The Mon Valley is home for me. And so today I'm particularly holding the workers, the steel workers, and all of those who are affected, close to my heart. I've been in constant communication with Governor Shapiro as well as Randy Padfield, the director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
(08:02)
When this event first happened, our agencies have been coordinating with county agencies and Chief Matt Brown to provide whatever resources our administration could provide, to make sure that the workers who are on site, are rescued and transported safely.
(08:18)
We stand willing to provide any resources that we can as we move past today into an investigation phase. But we want to thank particularly the first responders who've responded to the site, who've showed up and ran towards danger. We're grateful for the leadership that they've shown, and we look forward to continuing to work in a collaborative manner, not just today, but in the weeks and months ahead, to ensure that an event like this doesn't happen again in the future.
(08:47)
And I can say, we've been in constant contact with officials at US Steel. We're grateful for their partnership, as well as members of the United Steel Workers Union. I know we have president of the Allegheny County Labor Council, Darren Kelly with us as well, and we're going to continue to keep the lines of communications open, and to make sure we can help in any way possible.
(09:08)
So with that, we'll be happy to take a few questions For any of the speakers that have spoken today. Just say who it's for, right? Who you want to talk to.
Audience (09:15):
This is for for Scott. Were there any warning signs involved that something like this-
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis (09:15):
I'm sorry.
Audience (09:15):
… would happen [inaudible 00:09:21] battery 13 and 14?
Scott Buckiso (09:22):
We-
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis (09:23):
Can you speak in the microphone?
Scott Buckiso (09:24):
As I said earlier, this is an active investigation. Initially it was all search and rescue, making sure the plant was stable so we can make sure we get everybody out safely. And now we're in the investigation stage. So I can't comment on that right now.
Audience (09:39):
Just a clarification question, clarification. You said there were two initially missing. One is now deceased and one has been transported. Is there still someone who is unaccountable for?
Scott Buckiso (09:48):
We have one person that is unaccounted for.
Audience (09:50):
Still, current?
Scott Buckiso (09:51):
Yes.
Audience (09:52):
Scott, what do you know at this point about the cause of this [inaudible 00:09:53], even though it's preliminary?
Scott Buckiso (09:52):
Yeah, we had an explosion, very preliminary. We don't have any details right now. We are just starting that investigation. Obviously, with all of our local EMS folks and first responders. It was rescue first. So we'll get into the investigation as things go on.
Audience (10:19):
Are any other parts of the plant closed down right now besides those two batteries?
Scott Buckiso (10:24):
No. Everything else is stable in the plant. Those two batteries are shut down.
Audience (10:31):
The ten individuals who got hurt, were they transported to hospital?
(10:31)
So the ten people who got hurt, were they taken to hospital?
Scott Buckiso (10:34):
Yes, everybody has been transported to hospital.
Audience (10:36):
Was the person who did not survive, did they get taken to hospital?
Scott Buckiso (10:43):
They were pronounced deceased at the hospital.
Audience (10:46):
Where does the rescue effort stand right now?
Scott Buckiso (10:51):
It's an ongoing rescue effort for the one person that is still not accounted for.
Audience (10:57):
Have they made any connection of where that person may, or-
Scott Buckiso (11:00):
We think we know the general location of that employee, but we're not 100 percent sure. Search and rescue is on site.
Audience (11:08):
[inaudible 00:11:08] any concerns about that, those batteries in the past, 13 and 14?
Scott Buckiso (11:14):
We are always concerned about any incident at any of our facilities. Safety, as I said before, is first and foremost. It's a core value of US Steel, of our employees, management and union alike. And we work together to prevent anything like this happening. So that's why it's important that we get the investigation done properly.
Audience (11:33):
What [inaudible 00:11:38] the condition-
Scott Buckiso (11:33):
I'm sorry?
Audience (11:33):
Do you know the condition of the [inaudible 00:11:38]? Do you know their condition?
Scott Buckiso (11:43):
No.
Audience (11:43):
Hey Scott, what's the policy and procedure for notifying the affected employees that were involved?
Scott Buckiso (11:48):
I'm sorry, hold on.
Audience (11:55):
[inaudible 00:11:56] today?
Scott Buckiso (11:56):
Yeah, absolutely. We will continue search and rescue.
Audience (11:57):
What's the age of batteries 13 and 14 [inaudible 00:12:04]?
Speaker 9 (12:07):
[inaudible 00:12:07] condition there's no-
Scott Buckiso (12:08):
Yeah, we had nothing planned for 13, 14. Battery's in good condition, both productivity wise, environmental wise and safety wise.
Speaker 10 (12:18):
All right, everyone, thank you guys for coming. When we have more information, we'll get that to you as soon as we can. But as we said right now it's still an active scene. They're working through a lot of things. So we'll provide an update, and if there's another news briefing, we'll be sure to give you guys as much notice as we can. Thanks, you guys.