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Donn A Chickering: 3 recorded fatalities controller

MSHA controller ID: C01543

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Donn A Chickering controls.

Fatalities
3
Total incidents
1,063
Mines on record
44
Years on record
1983–2007
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
1,905
citations
997
significant & substantial
$493,618
proposed penalties
$217,027
paid to date
44% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $276,591 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
607
inspections on record
19,782
inspection hours
9.6
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.
1,905 citations across 19,782 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.
$494K
proposed penalties
$490K
current assessed
$217K
paid to date
$272K
outstanding
1,836 assessments are final orders; 17 contested dockets.
Of $127K in penalties contested before the Commission, $123K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-08.
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.
54.0%
significant & substantial
1.7%
high negligence or reckless
54.1%
reasonably likely or greater
16.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.3% none, 14.3% low, 83.8% moderate, 1.6% high, 0.1% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2007
ⓘ This rate is reportable injury cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year, computed as 200,000 times cases divided by MSHA operator-reported employee-hours. Cases are injuries MSHA graded degree 01 through 07; accident-only events that hurt no one are excluded, and so are contractor injuries, whose hours do not attach to a single mine. Rates begin in 2000, when quarterly employment reporting starts, and are withheld below 20,000 hours in a year.
4.55
total case rate
3.03
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
About average. The US coal mining average was 4.71 and the all-US-mining average was 3.77 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2007 4.55 3.03 0.000
2006 4.04 1.01 0.000
2005 15.19 13.92 0.000
2004 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2003 * 18.77 3.13 0.000
2002 * 5.04 5.04 0.000
2001 9.59 8.26 0.000
2000 10.69 9.13 0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
Source: injury cases from MSHA accident and injury records; employee-hours from MSHA quarterly employment reports. Rate is cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, operator employees only.
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: 2026-07-10
95%
within 1.5 mg/m3
2,934
samples
7.30
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.
1,467 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1,467 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR1,187
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)327
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR166

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2026-07-09
8.0
silica avg (%)
321
samples
45.3
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR141
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR9
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR8
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2026-07-10
18%
over PEL
256
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR34
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)32
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER25
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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.
96 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 9 · 9%
  • Stood as issued 81 · 84%
  • Still open 6 · 6%
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 51 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
3%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$125K proposed, $122K 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 2026-03-17. 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
WEVA 2007-652 Default Decision by District Court Melick 2009 $49K → $49K
WEVA 2007-595 Default Decision by District Court Melick 2009 $40K → $40K
WEVA 2007-653 Default Decision by District Court Melick 2009 $17K → $17K
KENT20020017 Settlement Weisberger 2004 $6K → $3K
WEVA 2007-567 Default Lesnick 2008 $5K → $5K
WEVA 2007-568 Default Lesnick 2008 $3K → $3K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2007
4
2006
4
2005
14
2003
7
2002
3
2001
100
2000
125
1999
172
1998
191 (2f)
1997
111
1996
48
1995
46
1994
43 (1f)
1993
27
1992
18
1991
15
1990
15
1989
63
1988
15
1987
8
1986
7
1985
10
1984
9
1983
8

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

Fatalities under this controller

3 recorded
June 11, 1998 KY · Coal continuous miner operator, coal mole operator Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Branham & Baker Underground Corp · Struck by falling object

VICTIM (MINER OPERATOR) POSITIONED HIMSELF IN A LOCATION THAT HAD A PIECE OF ROCK BREAK LOOSE FROM THE ROOF, WHICH APPARENTLY CAUGHT THE VICTIM AS IT FELL, CAUSING FATAL INJURIES.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Donn A Chickering 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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