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U. S. Steel Clairton Coke Project to Come On-Line By End of November

11/21/2012 - U. S. Steel’s US$500 million Clairton C-Battery project, the largest capital project in the history of the company’s Mon Valley steel works, is set to come on-line by the end of this month, Mon Valley Works general manager Scott Buckiso told a recent meeting of the Pittsburgh chapters of the AIST and AWMI.

U. S. Steel’s Clairton C-Battery project, the largest capital project in the history of the company’s Mon Valley steel works, is set to come on-line by the end of this month.
The US$500 million project is replacing old capacity and shows U. S. Steel’s commitment to the environment, Scott Buckiso, general manager of U. S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works, told attendees of a joint dinner meeting of the Pittsburgh chapters of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology and Association of Women in the Metal Industries on 13 November.
The project includes a 6-m battery and 84 ovens, he said. Some 2.4 million bricks were used to build the battery and 28,000 tons of refractory were installed.
At the 13 November meeting, Buckiso said the first coal charge could be happening “any day now.” The production rate will be increased on a planned schedule; full production at an annualized rate of just under 1 million tons is anticipated to be achieved in the first quarter of 2013, CEO John Surma noted in an earnings conference call on 30 October.
“If you think this industry is not high-tech, just go see this battery,” Buckiso told the 280+ meeting attendees. The automation and technology being used is “incredible,” he said.
Safety continues to be a core value of U. S. Steel, Buckiso explained. “It’s a personal responsibility and we live by it every day,” Buckiso said, noting that the Mon Valley steel works — which includes four separate facilities: the Clairton coke plant, Edgar Thomson steelmaking plant, Irvin rolling mill, all outside of Pittsburgh, Pa., and the Fairless finishing facility near Philadelphia, Pa., — has had its best year on record in terms of safety. “But it’s not enough,” he said, “until we get to zero [incidents].”
The company began ergonomic training in May 2012 and has trained more than 900 employees, he said. In addition to monthly safety themes, the company has also begun offering video game training, which provides interactive and exciting training for new employees to learn safe job procedures, he said.