Mining Incidents
Search Operators Mines Alerts Research Controllers Fatalgrams About
Countries
Peru Chile
English Español
← Back to search

Sewickley Mine: 1 recorded fatality Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Clyde Holding Inc
Avonmore, Indiana County, PA  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 3609542

Sewickley Mine has $1.4M in proposed MSHA penalties and $1.3M outstanding across 12 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Sewickley Mine.

Fatalities
1
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2021–2023
Latest incident
Sep 2023
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2009
234
citations
56
significant & substantial
$1,399,539
proposed penalties
$111,977
paid to date
8% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,287,562 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Neiswonger Construction Inc's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2007
54
inspections on record
1,164
inspection hours
20.1
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.
234 citations across 1,164 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Sewickley Mine has $1.4M in proposed MSHA penalties and $1.3M outstanding across 12 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.
$1.4M
proposed penalties
$1.4M
current assessed
$112K
paid to date
$1.3M
outstanding
193 assessments are final orders; 12 contested dockets.
Of $24K in penalties contested before the Commission, $21K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-12.
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.
24.0%
significant & substantial
21.9%
high negligence or reckless
24.0%
reasonably likely or greater
42.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.4% none, 43.8% low, 33.9% moderate, 14.2% high, 7.7% 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.
45 citations taken to the federal commission · 19% of citations on record
  • Settled 9 · 20%
  • Still open 36 · 80%
100%
S&S designation survived the contest
ⓘ Counts a Significant & Substantial citation as surviving when a settlement or judge's decision kept the designation, or the contest was dismissed or defaulted so the citation stands as issued. Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.
of 6 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
12%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$24K proposed, $21K 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 2025-06-17.
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 2023-0064 Settlement McCarthy 2025 $21K → $20K
PENN 2022-0035 Settlement Lewis 2022 $2K → $173
PENN 2010-298M Settlement Lesnick 2011 $1K → $905
PENN 2025-0025 Decision pending
PENN 2025-0046 Decision pending
PENN 2025-0047 Decision pending
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: 2025-11-04
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
26
samples
5
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg18
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz5
  • Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz2
  • Unlisted Particulate, total, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (26)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2025-11-04 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2025-11-04 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2025-11-04 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2023-01-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2023-01-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2023-01-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Laborer, Bullgang
2022-04-19 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.52 10 0.05 Laborer, Bullgang
2022-04-19 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.18 Dry Screen Plant Operator
2022-04-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2021-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2021-06-23 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.23 Crusher Oper/Worker
2021-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2021-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2021-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2019-06-12 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2019-06-12 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Complete Load-Haul-Dump
2019-06-12 Unlisted Particulate, total, <1% Qtz 1.28 Utility Man
2018-05-30 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.21 10 0.02 Backhoe Operator
2018-05-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-08-19 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.21 1.13 0.19 Crusher Oper/Worker
2014-08-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Mucking Mach. Operator
2014-08-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-08-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2009-11-17 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.49 1.09 0.45 Crusher Oper/Worker
2009-11-17 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2009-11-17 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.19 0.98 0.19 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. Ridge Limestone Inc 2007 to 2018
  2. Neiswonger Construction Inc 2018 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 12
2025 9
2024 9
2023 9
2022 9
2021 9
2020 8
2019 7
2018 5
2017 5
2016 4
2015 5
2014 5
2013 3
2012 3
2011 3
2010 3
2009 2
2008 2
2007 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Sewickley Mine sits in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 2.4% 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.
Indiana County, Pennsylvania · Population 83,213
2.4%
Mining share of county employment
$58,739
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 6,642 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 4,952 1 0 201.9
2025 Q4 3,306 1 0 302.5
2025 Q3 5,038 4 0 794.0
2025 Q2 4,000 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 4,142 1 0 241.4
2024 Q4 4,092 2 0 488.8
2024 Q3 5,004 1 0 199.8
Show 65 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 4,361 2 2 458.6
2024 Q1 3,996 20 5 5005.0
2023 Q4 3,478 1 0 287.5
2023 Q3 4,161 53 29 12737.3
2023 Q2 4,473 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 5,346 14 5 2618.8
2022 Q4 4,037 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 4,347 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 4,945 20 3 4044.5
2022 Q1 3,836 4 2 1042.8
2021 Q4 4,382 11 1 2510.3
2021 Q3 4,810 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 5,860 18 2 3071.7
2021 Q1 3,929 8 1 2036.1
2020 Q4 3,508 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 4,374 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 4,880 16 0 3278.7
2020 Q1 3,081 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 4,491 5 1 1113.3
2019 Q3 4,608 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 5,262 10 2 1900.4
2019 Q1 3,537 4 0 1130.9
2018 Q4 3,239 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 3,064 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 2,519 6 0 2381.9
2018 Q1 1,881 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 2,693 2 0 742.7
2017 Q3 3,675 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 2,693 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 1,606 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 2,310 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 2,959 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,948 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 1,585 2 0 1261.8
2015 Q4 2,975 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 2,518 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 2,834 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 1,186 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 3,159 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 2,691 4 1 1486.4
2014 Q2 3,399 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 1,464 1 0 683.1
2013 Q4 1,192 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,104 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 1,054 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 570 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 1,168 2 0 1712.3
2012 Q3 1,035 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 1,215 2 0 1646.1
2012 Q1 988 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1,212 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 1,222 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 1,011 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 487 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 781 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 1,319 1 0 758.2
2010 Q2 1,120 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 825 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 747 10 2 13386.9
2009 Q3 560 1 0 1785.7
2009 Q2 512 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 64 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 520 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 869 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 644 0 0 0.0

Fatalities at this mine

1 recorded
September 8, 2023 PA · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Neiswonger Construction Inc · Struck by falling object

Employee disregarded lock out tag safety training and climbed into a hopper without de-energizing equipment and without notifying other workers in the area. Loader operator had no way of knowing that anyone would be inside the hopper with the feeder belt running. Employee in the hopper was buried and crushed when loader operator dumped 18 tons of stone into hopper

Reportable incidents

2 on file (excluding fatalities above)

2023 · 1 incident

May 23, 2023 PA · Metal/Non-Metal outside foreman, leadman HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Neiswonger Construction Inc · Struck by falling object

Employee was lying down underneath chute of stationary crusher attempting to dislodge limestone that was stuck. rock was dislodge and additional rock that employee did not see also fell striking EE in the right portion of EE's forehead

2021 · 1 incident

November 3, 2021 PA · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Neiswonger Construction Inc · Fall onto or against objects

Employee noticed conveyor belt was slipping and ran to the disconnect switch and EE stumbled while pulling the disconnect arm. EE's glove got caught on the disconnect arm as EE fell causing a strain on EE's right shoulder & bicep.