U.S. Steel says preparations for a routine maintenance task may have led to an explosion at a U.S. Steel coal-processing plant near Pittsburgh that left two dead, sent 10 to hospitals and damaged part of the sprawling facility.

U.S. Steel says it believes a gas valve failure led to the explosion Monday morning at its Clairton Coke Works, in which two workers died and 10 others were injured.

U.S. Steel last year settled a lawsuit brought by environmental groups over emissions that stemmed from the 2018 Clairton plant fire. The settlement with the groups and the county included $19.5 million in coke-oven upgrades and $17.5 million in other plant improvements.