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Inside 'The Underground'
General
Discover TRIB Live's look at Iron Mountain's secure Butler County facility, a repurposed limestone mine safeguarding data centers, media, documents, and digital archives for the future.
Inside a former limestone mine in northern Butler County, Iron Mountain’s site serves as a secure storage facility, housing data centers, physical and digital media, documents and more.
The site was formerly owned by U.S. Steel and used to supply limestone to steel mills from 1902-1952. It sits 220 feet underground, offering protection from the elements and natural disasters. With more than 6 miles of roads and 1.8 million square feet of developed space, the facility is climate controlled, maintaining a temperature between 53 and 55 degrees with the help of a 100-acre underground lake.
Read MoreEnhanced benefits of Iron Mountain's underground facility in Boyers, PA
Iron Mountain’s underground facility in Boyers, Pennsylvania serves as a highly secure and resilient location for data centers, records management, media archives, and digital transformation services. This 200-acre underground complex is trusted by government agencies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, and major corporations for high-security storage, digital infrastructure, and long-term preservation of sensitive assets.
By leveraging its natural underground environment, the facility offers protection against physical threats, natural disasters, and environmental risks, making it an ideal solution for mission-critical data, classified records, historical documents, valuable media archives, and digital conversion services.
Why this matters
For organizations that require maximum security, disaster resilience, digital transformation services, and long-term data preservation, Iron Mountain’s underground facility in Boyers, PA, provides a unique and strategic advantage. The underground environment not only protects assets from external threats but also enables energy-efficient, high-compliance, and sustainable operations—a critical factor in today's risk-conscious and environmentally focused world.
Featured services & solutions
Data Centers
Iron Mountain is a global data center company that provides tailored, sustainable, secure, carrier and cloud-neutral colocation solutions.
Pennsylvania data center
Iron Mountain’s underground Pittsburgh PA data center & Pennsylvania colocation facility is highly secure and disaster resilient located 220 feet under the Earth’s surface.
Why underground?
Unmatched security & protection
- Highly Secure Location – Being 220 feet below ground provides a natural layer of security that reduces exposure to external threats, including physical attacks, espionage, and unauthorized access.
- Limited Entry Points – Access to the facility is tightly controlled with armed checkpoints, biometric authentication, and mantraps, making unauthorized entry extremely difficult.
- Perimeter Defense & Surveillance – Equipped with CCTV monitoring, metal detectors, and 24/7 security personnel, ensuring constant surveillance and controlled access.
Disaster resilience
- Protection from Natural Disasters – Unlike traditional above-ground facilities, this underground site is naturally shielded from hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, and earthquakes.
- Fire & Flood Resistance – The limestone environment is naturally non-flammable and does not require traditional fire suppression systems that could damage sensitive media or data assets.
- Temperature & Humidity Stability – The underground setting naturally maintains a stable climate, reducing risks associated with extreme temperature fluctuations and humidity damage.
Digital transformation and digitization capabilities
- Intelligent Document Processing – The Boyers facility offers advanced digitization services to help organizations transition from physical to digital records, ensuring greater accessibility and efficiency.
- Secure Digital Storage & Retrieval – Digitized records can be securely stored and retrieved while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Supports Long-Term Digital Preservation – Enhances records management strategies by safeguarding valuable historical, government, and corporate documents in digital formats.
Energy efficiency & sustainability
- Geothermal Cooling Advantage – The facility benefits from naturally cool underground temperatures, reducing the need for energy-intensive cooling solutions.
- Optimal Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE): Due to its stable underground climate and underground aquifer, this natural cooling contributes to higher energy efficiency and low optimal PUE.
- Matched by 100% Renewable Power – The facility is 100% matched by renewable energy sources, aligning with modern sustainability goals.
Long-term data & asset preservation
- Ideal for Media & Archive Storage – The underground setting reduces exposure to environmental pollutants, UV light, and oxidation, preserving delicate materials such as historical records, digital media, film archives, and government documents.
- Secure Data Center Operations – Mission-critical data storage and backup services benefit from a low-risk, high-resilience environment, ensuring business continuity in case of cyberattacks.
Compliance & regulatory alignment
- Government-Grade Security & Compliance – The facility is trusted by federal agencies, financial institutions, and healthcare providers, meeting stringent standards such as FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and ISO 27001.
- FISMA HIGH & FedRAMP-Certified – These certifications demonstrate adherence to the highest levels of data security and operational integrity, making it an attractive choice for government and enterprise customers.
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