Mining Incidents

Don Burns: 20 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Ben Ralston · Surface
Controlled by Ben J Ralston
Susquehanna, Susquehanna County, PA  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 3609607

Don Burns has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
20
citations
5
significant & substantial
$2,624
proposed penalties
$2,624
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
20
inspections on record
210
inspection hours
n/a
citations per 100 inspection hours
This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.
Rate withheld: 210 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Don Burns has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 contested dockets.

Penalty disposition
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$3K
proposed penalties
$3K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
20 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $200 in penalties contested before the Commission, $200 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-21.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
Violation severity profile
Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.
25.0%
significant & substantial
10.0%
high negligence or reckless
25.0%
reasonably likely or greater
30.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 20.0% low, 70.0% moderate, 10.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
When citations were contested
Contesting a citation before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is a lawful right. These figures state the public outcomes of that process, from MSHA's Contested Violations file.
2 citations taken to the federal commission · 10% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 2 · 100%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$200 proposed, $200 after decisions · industry: 39%
Source: MSHA Contested Violations file (public record), updated weekly. A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record. Latest contest filed 2008-07-28.
Contested penalties
A reduction or dismissal at the Commission is a lawful outcome of contesting a proposed penalty. Figures are the proposed amount and the amount upheld in the docket's decision.
Largest penalties this mine contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
PENN 2008-503M Dismissal Lesnick 2009 $200 → $200
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Health sampling
A sample is a point in time compliance measurement, not an individual exposure history. These figures describe MSHA sampling records and do not establish causation or personal dose.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2022-11-04, 3 years ago
5
samples
0
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg4
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (5)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2022-11-04 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2022-05-17 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator
2019-10-09 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator
2016-08-03 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.38 Mechanic
2016-08-03 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Don Burns 2008 to 2021
  2. Ben Ralston 2021 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 2
2025 2
2024 2
2023 2
2022 2
2021 2
2020 2
2019 2
2018 2
2017 2
2016 3
2015 2
2014 2
2013 1
2011 0
2010 1
2009 1
2008 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Don Burns sits in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 3.2% of county employment.

Local economic context
County figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 5-year pooled estimates, so the 2023 vintage covers 2019 through 2023. The Census category is 'mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction', which is broader than MSHA jurisdiction and includes oil and gas workers no mine employs. These figures describe the surrounding county, not this mine, and are not a factor in any specific incident.
Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania · Population 38,349
3.2%
Mining share of county employment
$66,930
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
Quarterly safety rates
Citations per million reported employee-hours. Rates begin in 2000, when MSHA's quarterly employment data starts; earlier incidents are counted but cannot be rate-adjusted. Quarters under 100,000 reported hours are greyed: too few hours for a stable rate.
Citations per million employee-hours, as reported to MSHA
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2026 Q2 686 2 1 2915.5
2026 Q1 460 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 465 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 840 1 0 1190.5
2025 Q2 824 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 82 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 240 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 645 0 0 0.0
Show 53 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 723 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 114 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 690 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 630 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 736 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 144 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 670 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 440 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 840 1 0 1190.5
2022 Q1 80 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 275 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 760 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 622 1 0 1607.7
2021 Q1 80 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 243 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 935 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 840 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 78 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 420 1 1 2381.0
2019 Q3 765 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 790 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 620 2 0 3225.8
2018 Q3 780 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 816 1 0 1225.5
2018 Q1 130 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 480 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 960 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 960 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 440 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 1,280 2 0 1562.5
2016 Q2 300 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 300 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 280 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 310 1 1 3225.8
2015 Q2 120 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 320 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 450 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 300 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 210 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 360 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 360 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 0 0 0
2010 Q4 0 0 0
2010 Q3 65 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 0 0 0
2009 Q2 282 2 0 7092.2
2009 Q1 220 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 157 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 332 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 268 2 0 7462.7

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.