Rick Bender et al: 167 MSHA citations controller
MSHA controller ID: C10412
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 4
- Mines on record
- 2
- Years on record
- 1992–1994
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
167
citations
18
significant & substantial
$20,998
proposed penalties
$19,298
paid to date
92% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,700 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
386
inspections on record
8,885
inspection hours
1.9
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.167 citations across 8,885 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
ⓘ
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.$21K
proposed penalties
$19K
current assessed
$19K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
162 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $3K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2023-01-11.
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.11.1%
significant & substantial
2.5%
high negligence or reckless
11.1%
reasonably likely or greater
7.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.6% none, 30.2% low, 66.7% moderate, 1.9% high, 0.6% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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.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: 2023-02-14, 3 years ago
ⓘ
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.100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1,358
samples
2.09
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
ⓘ
The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.525 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 833 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- HAND LOADERS942
- LABORER172
- HOIST ENGINEER/OPERATOR74
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2023-01-24, 3 years ago5.7
silica avg (%)
22
samples
29.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- HAND LOADERS22
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: 2023-02-14, 3 years ago
ⓘ
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.0%
over PEL
151
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- LABORER59
- HOIST ENGINEER/OPERATOR33
- HAND LOADERS26
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, 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.
5
citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
- Settled 1 · 20%
- Stood as issued 4 · 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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
59%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$3K proposed, $1K 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 2009-02-06. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
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 controller contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
| Docket | Decision | Judge | Year | Proposed / upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PENN 2007-364 | Settlement | Bulluck | 2008 | $2K → $350 |
| PENN 2009-329 | Default | Lesnick | 2010 | $500 → $500 |
| PENN 2009-98R | Dismissal | Barbour | 2008 | $362 → $312 |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL 2 non-fatal
- FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 1 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 1 non-fatal
Incident timeline
1994
2
1993
1
1992
1
Operators under this controller
Mines on record
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Rick Bender et al stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate
MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.
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