Emergency crews descended on Cleveland-Cliffs' coke plant in Monessen on Sunday afternoon after a person was reportedly pinned between two pieces of machinery, prompting officials to call in the Westmoreland County coroner. A 911 supervisor said first responders were dispatched to the plant at 4:15 p.m.
The Westmoreland County coroner was called to the Cleveland-Cliffs coke plant according to officials, as reported by WPXI. The 911 supervisor said the person was reportedly pinned between two pieces of machinery at the site. The employee was identified by the Westmoreland County coroner as Jeffrey Smith, 53, of Newell, and was pronounced dead. WPXI had a crew heading to the scene as the situation continued to develop Sunday evening.
A Plant With Deep Roots Along the Monongahela
The Monessen facility Cleveland-Cliffs operates today traces back to a historic industrial site along the Monongahela River previously run by Koppers and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, according to USW Local 5000. Cleveland-Cliffs took over the plant in December 2020 as part of its acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA, and the site remains one of the few active coke plants left in Western Pennsylvania's Mon Valley, the union local notes.
The plant runs two coke batteries totaling 56 ovens, with an annual nameplate capacity of roughly 327,000 to 350,000 net tons of furnace coke and related carbon by-products, per a Cleveland-Cliffs fact sheet. That coke supplies the company's steelmaking blast furnaces across the region. Hourly workers there are represented by the United Steelworkers under collective bargaining agreements that cover more than 12,000 employees across Cleveland-Cliffs' steel and cokemaking operations nationwide, according to the World Socialist Web Site.
A Second Fatal-Style Incident Across Cliffs' Footprint
Sunday's incident follows another serious equipment-related accident at a Cleveland-Cliffs facility just weeks earlier. In August, a worker died operating a pot hauler at the company's Burns Harbor plant in Porter, Indiana, as Hoodline previously reported. That fatality has kept heavy machinery safety in steel processing plants under ongoing union and regulatory scrutiny.
Cokemaking equipment such as pusher cars, door machines, and quench cars involves moving parts and pinch points. Machine guarding and safe maintenance are important workplace-safety concerns.
Corporate Safety Record Meets Industry-Wide Risk
Workplace safety remains a concern across steelmaking operations. Contact with objects and equipment is a workplace hazard.
Steelmaking involves work-related safety risks. It remains unconfirmed whether OSHA Region 3 or the Mine Safety and Health Administration has opened a formal inspection into Sunday's incident, and neither the Westmoreland County Coroner's Office nor United Steelworkers leadership has yet issued an official statement. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
