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Susie A Smith; Elmer Fuller: 1,920 MSHA citations controller

MSHA controller ID: C07671

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Susie A Smith; Elmer Fuller controls.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
85
Mines on record
13
Years on record
1983–2021
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
1,920
citations
481
significant & substantial
$463,558
proposed penalties
$426,682
paid to date
92% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $36,876 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Labor enforcement (WHD)
US Labor Department wage findings since 2016
1
labor cases
$7,191
back wages owed
17
employees affected
Violation types
Wage & hour (FLSA) (1)
Source: US DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement records, matched by employer name and state.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
539
inspections on record
23,572
inspection hours
8.1
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.
1,920 citations across 23,572 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.
$464K
proposed penalties
$427K
current assessed
$427K
paid to date
$230
outstanding
1,887 assessments are final orders; 54 contested dockets.
Of $178K in penalties contested before the Commission, $141K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2022-04-14.
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.
25.5%
significant & substantial
3.8%
high negligence or reckless
25.5%
reasonably likely or greater
15.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.2% none, 18.0% low, 78.0% moderate, 3.7% high, 0.1% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2005
ⓘ 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.
37.89
total case rate
30.31
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 5.11 and the all-US-mining average was 4.21 cases per 100 workers.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2005 * 37.89 30.31 0.000
2004 * 11.83 5.91 0.000
2003 * 6.99 6.99 0.000
2002 * 17.32 17.32 0.000
2001 * 8.28 6.21 0.000
2000 * 10.54 5.27 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: 2005-09-30, 20 years ago
96%
within 1.5 mg/m3
596
samples
9.55
dust max (mg/m3)
309 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 287 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR291
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)68
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)36

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2005-10-03, 20 years ago
5.6
silica avg (%)
38
samples
15.0
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR22
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: 2005-01-13, 21 years ago
15%
over PEL
62
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR13
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)12
  • UTILITY MAN9
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.
167 citations taken to the federal commission · 9% of citations on record
  • Settled 134 · 80%
  • Stood as issued 33 · 20%
96%
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 121 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
21%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$165K proposed, $131K 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 2021-07-27. 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
VA 2012-416 Settlement Lesnick 2012 $13K → $10K
VA 2009-400 Settlement Koutras 2013 $12K → $8K
VA 2012-645 Default Lesnick 2013 $12K → $12K
VA 2013-341 Settlement Rae 2014 $10K → $8K
KENT20020212 Settlement Weisberger 2002 $8K → $6K
VA 2012-415 Settlement Koutras 2013 $8K → $6K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2021
2
2020
3
2019
2
2014
2
2013
1
2009
1
2008
2
2007
5
2006
5
2005
5
2004
2
2003
3
2002
6
2001
4
2000
4
1999
6
1998
7
1997
4
1996
2
1995
3
1993
2
1990
2
1989
1
1988
1
1987
6
1985
1
1984
2
1983
1

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

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Where Susie A Smith; Elmer Fuller 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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