80% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $45,000 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
248
inspections on record
4,067
inspection hours
10.9
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.
445 citations across 4,067 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.
$226K
proposed penalties
$181K
current assessed
$181K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
441 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $150K in penalties contested before the Commission, $105K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-11-14.
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.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2012
ⓘ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.
6.55
total case rate
6.55
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 2.48 and the all-US-mining average was 2.96 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
2012 *
6.55
6.55
0.000
2011 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2010 *
3.08
0.00
0.000
2009 *
2.92
2.92
0.000
2008 *
6.04
3.02
3.018
2007 *
2.33
2.33
0.000
2006
0.00
0.00
0.000
2005 *
0.00
0.00
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.
Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
ⓘMany samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.
Last sampled: 2012-10-31, 13 years ago
17%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
128
samples
118
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz518 over
Total Carbon,TC197 over
Total Carbon,calculated from elemental carbon.194 over
Diesel particulate (total carbon)163 over
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), 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.
5citations taken to the federal commission · 1% of citations on record
Settled
3 · 60%
Stood as issued
2 · 40%
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 5 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
30%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$150K proposed, $105K 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 2009-05-20. 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.
November 17, 2008IA · Metal/Non-Metalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Douds Stone, Inc. · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
While repairing a gate post, three employees, using a service truck and a Cat 950B loader, "to reshape the post". While the loader was moving into position its brakes failed and overran his intended point and an employee.
WHILE TAKING A LOAD OF FINES TO THE STOCK PILE, EMPLOYEE WAS RETURNING TO THE PIT AREA (WITH A LOADED TRUCK). WHILE ROUNDING A CURVE IN THE HAUL ROAD, EMPLOYEE WENT THROUGH A BERM CAUSING THE TRUCK TO ROLL. EMPLOYEE WAS CRUSHED BY THE TRUCK HE WAS DRIVING.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Gary L Yates 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.