Ken Smith: 180 MSHA citations controller
MSHA controller ID: 0041275
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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Ken Smith controls.
- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 4
- Mines on record
- 1
- Years on record
- 2013–2016
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
180
citations
46
significant & substantial
$214,409
proposed penalties
$114,754
paid to date
54% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $99,655 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
61
inspections on record
904
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: 904 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.$214K
proposed penalties
$115K
current assessed
$115K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
179 assessments are final orders; 12 contested dockets.
Of $189K in penalties contested before the Commission, $89K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-19.
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.25.7%
significant & substantial
6.7%
high negligence or reckless
25.7%
reasonably likely or greater
52.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 14.0% low, 79.3% moderate, 6.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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: 2025-09-24
ⓘ
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.0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
21
samples
11
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Respirable dust, <.1mg8
- Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz4
- Arsenic fumes3
- Beryllium fumes3
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.
64
citations taken to the federal commission · 36% of citations on record
- Settled 64 · 100%
65%
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 26 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
53%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$189K proposed, $89K 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 2021-06-30. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAKE 2011-615M | Settlement | Lewis | 2014 | $160K → $70K |
| LAKE 2018-55M | Settlement | McCarthy | 2019 | $8K → $4K |
| LAKE 2021-0169 | Settlement | Bulluck | 2021 | $8K → $6K |
| LAKE 2019-0284 | Settlement | Manning | 2020 | $3K → $3K |
| LAKE 2019-0284M | Settlement | Manning | 2020 | $3K → $2K |
| LAKE 2013-705M | Settlement | Barbour | 2014 | $2K → $1K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 2 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 1 non-fatal
- STEPPING OR KNEELING ON OBJECT 1 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2016
2
2015
1
2013
1
Operators under this controller
Mines on record
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Ken Smith 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.
The federal record itself stays free on this site. What costs money, and why.