Mining Incidents

Iracoal Incorporated: 4 recorded fatalities controller

MSHA controller ID: C15585

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Fatalities
4
Total incidents
1,037
Mines on record
26
Years on record
1997–2003
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
3,158
citations
821
significant & substantial
$834,713
proposed penalties
$288,967
paid to date
35% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $545,746 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
999
inspections on record
30,501
inspection hours
10.4
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.
3,158 citations across 30,501 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.
$835K
proposed penalties
$725K
current assessed
$289K
paid to date
$437K
outstanding
3,120 assessments are final orders; 138 contested dockets.
Of $520K in penalties contested before the Commission, $415K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2003-07-02.
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.
26.2%
significant & substantial
8.0%
high negligence or reckless
27.4%
reasonably likely or greater
8.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 5.4% low, 86.5% moderate, 8.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2004
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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 5.57 and the all-US-mining average was 4.33 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
2004 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2003 8.83 6.18 0.000
2002 12.92 11.03 0.000
2001 13.47 11.01 0.117
2000 11.64 8.91 0.105
* 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: 2005-03-29, 21 years ago
84%
within 1.5 mg/m3
2,579
samples
8.52
dust max (mg/m3)
1,379 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1,200 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR815
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)191
  • LONGWALL OPERATOR (HEADGATE SIDE)124

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2004-10-25, 21 years ago
6.3
silica avg (%)
215
samples
50.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR90
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR21
  • LONGWALL OPERATOR (HEADGATE SIDE)14

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: 2004-02-18, 22 years ago
10%
over PEL
353
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR40
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)30
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER27
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.
28 citations taken to the federal commission · 1% of citations on record
  • Settled 28 · 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 19 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$59K proposed, $59K 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 2003-02-24. 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
KENT20010319 Default Feldman 2003 $70K → $70K
KENT20020294 Settlement Melick 2003 $50K → $50K
WEST20010395 Settlement Weisberger 2002 $16K → $8K
WEST20030026 Settlement Zielinski 2004 $16K → $16K
WEST20010320 Settlement Weisberger 2002 $15K → $7K
WEST20010275 Settlement Manning 2002 $14K → $7K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2003
32
2002
111
2001
150 (1f)
2000
138 (1f)
1999
139
1998
243 (2f)
1997
224

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

Fatalities under this controller

4 recorded
October 3, 2001 KY · Coal truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Lodestar Energy, Inc · Fall from machine

EE WAS OPERATING A DM600 MACK FUEL TRUCK WHEN HE APPARENTLY LOST CONTROL OF THE TRUCK AND JUMPED OUT OF THE TRUCK. IN DOING SO, HE SUSTAINED SEVERE HEAD INJURIES AND DIED ON 10-4-01. THE ACCID ENT HAPPENED ON A DESCENDING ROAD. CAUSE IS STILL UNDETERMINED.

May 8, 2000 KY · Coal coal/ore shovel operator, shoveler, power shoveler Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Lodestar Energy Incorporated · Struck against stationary object

EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING A ROCK TRUCK, DUMPING INTO HOLLOW FILL #6. HE BACKED TO THE DUMP AND THEN REPOSITIONED TRUCK. AT THIS TIME THE TRUCK WENT OVER THE HILL. HE WAS THROWN FROM THE TRUCK AND RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES.

May 22, 1998 KY · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Lodestar Energy Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EMPLOYEE DRIVING TRUCK DOWN SLOPE. FOR UNKNOWN REASON DROVE TRUCK INTO THE DITCH. FOR UNKNOWN REASON WAS FOUND UNDERNEATH THE COAL TRUCK.

February 20, 1998 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer Fatality · MACHINERY
Lodestar Energy, Inc · (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE WAS PUSHING MATERIAL WHEN THE DOZER HE WAS OPERATING BACKED INTO THE SLURRY IMPOUNDMENT. THE DOZER WAS COVERED BY 15' TO 20' OF SLURRY FOR APPROX. 48 HOURS. MEDICAL EXAMINER REPORTS IMMEDIA TE CAUSE OF DEATH WAS ASPHXIA.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Iracoal Incorporated 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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