Mining Incidents

Killen Mine: 6 MSHA citations Coal

Boliver, Westmoreland County, PA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3608519

Killen Mine has $409 in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2002–2003
Latest incident
Apr 2003
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
6
citations
2
significant & substantial
$409
proposed penalties
$409
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2002
13
inspections on record
129
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: 129 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Killen Mine has $409 in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 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.
$409
proposed penalties
$409
current assessed
$409
paid to date
$0
outstanding
6 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2003-03-25.
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.
33.3%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
33.3%
reasonably likely or greater
16.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 66.7% low, 33.3% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Killen Mine shows 100% of 11 respirable coal dust samples met the 1.5 mg/m3 standard.

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.

Respirable coal dust
Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.

Last sampled: 2003-09-23, 22 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
11
samples
0.83
dust max (mg/m3)
11 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2003-10-01, 22 years ago
43.4
silica avg (%)
2
samples
47.0
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR1

Noise
The share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.

Last sampled: 2003-09-23, 22 years ago
0%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR4
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR4
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Health sampling trend
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.
Respirable coal dust by year
Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.
Year within 1.5 mg/m3 samples
2003 100% 4
2002 100% 7
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2003 39.7 1
2002 47.0 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2003 0% 2
2002 0% 8
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Dunamis Resources, Inc 1995 to 2003
  2. AMFIRE Mining Company, LLC 2003 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Coal production is reported quarterly and lags the current period; the most recent quarters may be incomplete.
Year Employees Coal produced (tons)
2004 0
2003 6 60,258
2002 5 56,696
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Killen Mine sits in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 0.5% 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.
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania · Population 353,345
0.5%
Mining share of county employment
$72,468
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
2004 Q1 0 0 0
2003 Q4 377 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 2,673 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 4,921 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 4,691 2 1 426.3
2002 Q4 4,402 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 4,586 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 187 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2003 · 1 incident

April 25, 2003 PA · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
AMFIRE Mining Company, LLC · Struck against stationary object

PRYING ON A DRIVE SHAFT WITH A BAR ON A D11N. THE BAR SLIPPED & THE EE HIT HIS ELBOW ON THE D117. RIGHT ELBOW

2002 · 1 incident

August 6, 2002 PA · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Dunamis Resources, Inc · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

SERVICING THE MACHINE. WAS GETTING INTO THE DOZER DOOR SWUNG SHUT AND HIT THE RIGHT PINKY. CUTTING IT ON THE KNUCKLE. OPERATOR THOUGHT THE DOOR WAS LATCHED.