Residential Damage in an Area of Underground Coal Mining

by Michael F. Padgett, Dames & Moore, Golden, CO, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Abstract:

In order to estimate the potential for future subsidence-related residential damage, a statistical analysis of past residential damage in the Boulder-Weld, Colorado, coal field was performed. The objectives of this study were to assess the difference in damage severity and frequency between undermined and non-undermined areas, and to determine, where applicable, which mining factors significantly influence the severity and frequency of residential damage. The database for this assessment was developed with a field survey of 257 randomly selected residences and the evaluation of mine maps and drill hole boring logs. Approximately two-thirds of the selected homes were located in undermined areas. The remainder were located in non-undermined areas and were used as a control group. Each home was inspected and ranked according to the amount of past damage it had experienced. The drill hole boring logs provided data about the geologic and mine conditions that exist beneath each of the surveyed homes. The results of this study suggest that undermined homes have almost three times the risk of having some type of structural damage than do non-undermined homes.

Subject Headings: Coal mining | Mines and mining | Boring | Residential buildings | Drilling | Statistics | Risk management | Colorado | United States

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