HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The fatal explosion last week at U.S. Steel’s Pittsburgh-area coal-processing plant has revived debate about its future just as the iconic American company was emerging from a long period of uncertainty.

Channel 11 spoke exclusively with United Steelworkers Local 1557 Vice President Richard Tikey, sharing his reaction to new details in the investigation into the deadly explosion at the Clairton Coke Works.

In the last five years, U.S. Steel has paid more than $10 million in penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act at Clairton.

Timothy Quinn, 39, of East Huntingdon Township, also died in the incident. Ten other people were injured. Three of them are still hospitalized.

The health department began deploying mobile air units Thursday provided by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection and Carnegie Mellon University. The units will travel around Clairton to test for dozens of hazardous air pollutants.

Family members tell Pittsburgh's Action News 4 Steven Menefee, a father of two, was a loving man who would give you the shirt off his back.

The fatal Clairton Coke Works blast, which claimed two lives and injured ten, exposes decades of unsafe conditions maintained to protect profits at the expense of workers’ lives.