70% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $8,323,181 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
6,873
inspections on record
360,597
inspection hours
10.7
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.
38,640 citations across 360,597 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘA Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
11
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2014-09-15.
On record since 2010.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, 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.
$27.6M
proposed penalties
$21.1M
current assessed
$19.3M
paid to date
$1.8M
outstanding
37,756 assessments are final orders; 1,301 contested dockets.
Of $18.7M in penalties contested before the Commission, $12.2M was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-03-19.
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, 2014
ⓘ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.
6.48
total case rate
4.23
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.96 and the all-US-mining average was 2.93 cases per 100 workers.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2014
6.48
4.23
0.000
2013
5.24
2.48
0.000
2012
5.31
1.85
0.050
2011
4.50
1.04
0.000
2010
4.85
1.86
0.113
2009
2.97
1.16
0.000
2008
3.95
1.41
0.000
2007
5.76
2.51
0.000
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: 2014-08-28, 11 years ago
93%
within 1.5 mg/m3
34,529
samples
17.47
dust max (mg/m3)
1
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.
17,564 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 16,965 by the operator.
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.
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.
8,253citations taken to the federal commission · 21% of citations on record
Settled
7,363 · 89%
Stood as issued
882 · 11%
Vacated or withdrawn
8 · 0%
91%
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 5,114 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
34%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$18.0M proposed, $11.9M 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 2015-06-09. 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.
EE WAS SETTING A TIMBER ALONG THE RIB WHEN THE RIB ROLLED OFF AND STRUCK HIM, TRAPPING HIM UNDERNEATH THE RIB, RESULTING IN FATAL INJURIES. THE TOTAL RIB ROLL WAS APPROXIMATELY 26'LONG x 8' HIGH x 18" THICK. ACCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO MSHA HOT LINE ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT.
Worker took it on his self to cut belt line down without the use of the equipment that we was using to take it down with. He cut it then started walking away from it as it was falling. Then it caught the catwalk he was on and flipped him over the double hand rail on the catwalk and fell to the ground about 20 ft down.
At approx 5:20 pm a 40 ton articulating truck was traveling along a haulage road impacting a 63" high berm. The truck traveled across the berm and fell 72 feet to the mine floor below. The victim was extracted from the truck by EMS and airlifted to the Hospital.
Injury was cleaning gob in 3 left with continous miner, he started backing out of crosscut when corner of rib rolled off on him receiving a fatal injury to his upper torso. Size of rib striking he was approx. 4'L x 36"W x 16" thick.
November 4, 2006KY · Coalbull gang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, section foreman, shift bossFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Employee was operating a scoop between the #5 & #6 entries on the 001/002 MMU one break inby survey station #1411. He was pulling a shuttle car cable that had been wrapped around the canopy post on the left side of the operating deck. As he was pulling the cable, the rear wheel of the scoop ran over the cable. This caused the cable to unwrap & strike him on the side of his head.
A FATAL FALL OF ROOF ACCIDENT OCCURRED ON THE 003 WORKING SECTION. THE VICTIM WAS WORKING WITH THE SECTION CREW AND HAD BEEN INSTALLING TIMBERS DURING RETREAT MINING. THE CREW HAD TEMPORARILY HALTED PRODUCTION TO OBSERVE THE MINE ROOF, WHEN WITH LITTLE WARNING THE MINE ROOF BEGAN TO COLLAPSE. THE 5 MINERS RAN TO ESCAPE THE ROOF FALL. FOUR OF THE MINERS ESCAPED.
WHILE OPERATING A 50 TON CLINE ROCK TRUCK EE FAILED TO NEGOTIATE CURVE-RAN THROUGH THE BERM & STRUCK THE HILL-RECD HEAD INJURY-EE PASSED AWAY ON SUNDAY 9-16-98
March 2, 1998KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
EMPL OF CONTR TRUCKING COMPANY COMMITTED AN UNSAFE ACT BY STEPPING OVER BARRIER,GOING OUT ONTO BIN ALL OF WHICH WAS UNAUTHORIZED & CONTRARY TO RECENT SAFETY TRAINING.
March 22, 1991KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
ROOF BOLT OPERATOR WAS A BOUT SIX FOOT INBY PERMINATE SUPORT NO EYE WITNESS.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where James River Coal Company 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.