Mining Incidents

H T Ritchie: 2 recorded fatalities controller

MSHA controller ID: M04187

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Fatalities
2
Total incidents
97
Mines on record
4
Years on record
1983–2005
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
24
citations
3
significant & substantial
$1,816
proposed penalties
$1,816
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
21
inspections on record
299
inspection hours
n/a
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.
Rate withheld: 299 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
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.
$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
24 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $516 in penalties contested before the Commission, $516 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2005-11-02.
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.
12.5%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
12.5%
reasonably likely or greater
79.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.2% low, 95.8% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2001
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.
19.34
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 4.48 and the all-US-mining average was 5.26 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
2001 * 19.34 0.00 0.000
2000 * 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.
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.
3 citations taken to the federal commission · 13% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 3 · 100%
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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$516 proposed, $516 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 2005-10-04. 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
CENT 2006-1M Default Lesnick 2006 $516 → $516
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2005
1
2004
2
2003
1
2002
4
2001
5
1999
2
1998
2
1997
4 (1f)
1996
3
1995
1
1994
5
1993
1
1992
4
1991
2
1990
2
1989
4
1988
7
1987
8
1986
7
1985
22
1984
7 (1f)
1983
3

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

Fatalities under this controller

2 recorded
February 17, 1997 KS · Metal/Non-Metal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Ritchie Sand Inc · Struck by powered moving object

END DUMPS WERE PARKED END TO END ON THE ACCESS ROAD JUST EAST OF THE TUNNEL. EE WAS THE DRIVER OF THE FRONT VEHICLE AND VICTIM WAS THE DRIVER OF THE BACK VEHICLE EE WAS HELPING EE FIX HIS TA RP HANDLE. EE WEN TBACK TO HIS VEHICLE TO TURN ON HIS HEADLIGHTS TO PROVIDE MORE LIGHT. EE QUICKLY FIXED THE TARP HANDLE AND WAS WALKING BACK TO EE'S VEHICLE TO THANK HIM FOR HIS HELP. EE F

January 11, 1984 KS · Metal/Non-Metal welder (shop) Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Quality Rock Company · Struck by flying object

CHESTER AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR WELDER WAS CONTRACTED TO REPAIR THE PAN OF CAT 633 MOTOR SCRAPER THE PAN WAS BENT AND NEEDED TO BE STRAIGHTENED CHESTER HAD CUT THE GUSSETS FROM UNDER THE PAN AND HAD PLACED ANGLE IRON ON THE PAN AND WEDGED IT AGAINST THE GOOSE NECK INAN ATTEMPT TO STRAIGHTEN THE PAN HE STARTED THIS PROCEDURE ON ONE SIDE OF THE PAN AND HAD MOVED THE ANGLE IRON TO T

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where H T Ritchie 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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