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Kenneth L Farley: 1,128 MSHA citations controller

MSHA controller ID: C12979

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
31
Mines on record
10
Years on record
1987–2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
1,128
citations
557
significant & substantial
$192,578
proposed penalties
$53,680
paid to date
28% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $138,898 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
317
inspections on record
10,059
inspection hours
11.2
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.
1,128 citations across 10,059 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.
$193K
proposed penalties
$193K
current assessed
$54K
paid to date
$139K
outstanding
1,111 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $11K in penalties contested before the Commission, $11K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-08-05.
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.
50.1%
significant & substantial
0.8%
high negligence or reckless
50.3%
reasonably likely or greater
7.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.4% none, 10.4% low, 88.4% moderate, 0.8% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2011
ⓘ 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 3.83 and the all-US-mining average was 3.08 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
2011 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2010 0.00 0.00 0.000
2009 0.79 0.00 0.000
2008 0.77 0.77 0.000
2007 0.81 0.81 0.000
2006 0.00 0.00 0.000
2005 0.00 0.00 0.000
2004 1.55 1.55 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.

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: 2011-05-19, 15 years ago
95%
within 1.5 mg/m3
2,497
samples
14.25
dust max (mg/m3)
1,278 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1,219 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR1,255
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)294
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR146

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2010-05-20, 16 years ago
9.0
silica avg (%)
161
samples
27.8
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR109
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR1
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2010-06-09, 16 years ago
13%
over PEL
298
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)71
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR59
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)31
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
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
KENT20010211 Default Barbour 2001 $11K → $11K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2009
1
2008
1
2007
1
2004
1
2003
3
2001
1
2000
2
1997
1
1996
3
1995
2
1994
3
1993
2
1992
3
1991
1
1988
3
1987
3

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Kenneth L Farley 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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