3M Ordered to Pay $61.5M Over Fatal Texas Explosion
Published on 08/13/2026 at 06:37 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A Texas jury has ordered 3M to pay $61.5 million in damages over a 2020 industrial explosion that killed three people and damaged hundreds of properties. The verdict, delivered in Harris County on August 11, 2026, is the third significant award against the company in litigation stemming from the blast at Watson Grinding and Manufacturing.
Jury Splits Liability
The jury found 3M 30% responsible for the incident, with Watson Grinding held 70% liable. The latest award covers 24 plaintiffs and follows two earlier multimillion-dollar verdicts against 3M: $118 million in November 2025 and $37.9 million in June 2025.
With more than 2,000 plaintiffs still awaiting trial, 3M has said it will appeal the recent verdict. The next trial in the multidistrict litigation is scheduled to begin in October 2026.
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Federal Report on Fatal Steel Plant Blast
The day after the Texas verdict, US federal safety authorities released a final report on a separate fatal explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Works facility. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) concluded that the August 2025 blast, which killed two workers and injured 11 others, was preventable.
The investigation found the explosion occurred when workers used pressurized water to clean a 70-year-old cast-iron valve without written safety procedures. Investigators noted this ad hoc practice had been used for years before the valve ruptured, allowing gas to ignite roughly 24 seconds after an evacuation began. The blast caused $52 million in property damage.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has since levied fines totaling $118,214 against U.S. Steel and approximately $61,000 against contractor MPW. The CSB report highlighted that a similar explosion at the same facility in 2010 injured 20 people, yet adequate safety protocols were never formalized in the years that followed.
The CSB's finding that this explosion was preventable underscores a hard truth: informal, unwritten safety practices leave companies exposed. A comprehensive Health & Safety Toolkit provides formal risk assessments, checklists and toolbox talks that help you meet legal obligations under UK regulations like COSHH and PUWER. Get the free Health & Safety Toolkit
Global Safety Push
In a related international effort, the Chinese State Council established an investigation team on August 12, 2026, to probe a gas explosion at the Liushenyu Coal Mine in Shanxi province. The investigation will focus on identifying responsibility and enforcing mine safety measures across the region.
Elsewhere, 12 coal mines in Hunan province were authorized to resume production on August 11, 2026, after completing a safety rectification process supervised by multiple government departments. Emergency services in South Korea also extinguished a 20-ton waste fire at a factory in Gyeongju late on August 11. The blaze, suspected to have started via spontaneous combustion, was brought under control in less than four hours with no reported casualties.
