Family of worker killed in U.S. Steel Clairton plant explosion files suit against Nippon Steel
The family of Timothy Quinn, one of the two steelworkers who died in last year's Clairton Works explosion, has filed suit against U.S. Steel owner, Nippon Steel, accusing it and companies it has worked with of not taking steps that could have prevented the explosion that killed Quinn.
The lawsuit, filed this past week, names as defendants Nippon Steel, which completed its purchase of U.S. Steel in the months before the explosion, along with MPW Industrial Services and Valves Incorporated. It claims they were all negligent.
The lawsuit accuses Nippon of prioritizing revenue over worker safety. It stands in contrast to a common refrain from U.S. Steel leaders that safety is a core value for the company.
"There's a number of different steps that were not taken that, if they were taken, would have prevented this explosion from happening," said Brendan Lupetin, the lawyer representing Quinn's family.
Quinn, 39, nicknamed TQ, was the father of three. He worked in the reversing room for battery 14, which the lawsuit says is above the basement where the valve that exploded sits.
"There have been long-standing recommendations from OSHA to change the location of this area where TQ and other workers were perpetually in harm's way. They didn't do that," Lupetin said.
He said Nippon knew or should have known about the issue after they purchased U.S. Steel, and could have put the plant on pause and moved workers to a safer spot.
"That was their obligation, their legal responsibility, and they seemingly did not do that."
The lawsuit includes information from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and OSHA, Lupetin said.
Along with U.S. Steel, the lawsuit names MPW. Their contractors were performing maintenance when the explosion took place, including a valve exercising operation.
"The claim against MPW is for essentially using the wrong liquid to fill this valve," Lupetin said.
The lawsuit claims the plant's written policies say to use steam, but contractors instead used high-pressure water for what Lupetin says were unknown reasons. The lawsuit does say MPW did not attend a safety meeting to plan for the maintenance.
"That presumably is how they end up pumping this thing full of water rather than steam," Lupetin said. "They essentially created a bomb."
The lawsuit is also against the company that refurbished this valve soon after it cracked. The lawsuit claims that Valves Incorporated should have told U.S. Steel that the valve needed to be replaced.
"The overpressurization of a dilapidated, out-of-date valve caused this valve to literally crack open right down the middle," Lupetin said.
Lupetin claims that U.S. Steel allowed coke gas to seep out, leading to the explosion that killed Quinn.
KDKA-TV did reach out to both Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, and has not yet heard back.
U.S. Steel announced in October that it would strengthen several safety protocols, including prohibiting the use of high-pressure water to clean valves.
