Mining Incidents

Matt Evans; Donald Drabant: 1 recorded fatality controller

MSHA controller ID: C15975

Watch this controller

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Matt Evans; Donald Drabant controls.

Fatalities
1
Total incidents
34
Mines on record
2
Years on record
2000–2002
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
222
citations
78
significant & substantial
$218,690
proposed penalties
$25,138
paid to date
11% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $193,552 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
44
inspections on record
2,116
inspection hours
10.5
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.
222 citations across 2,116 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.
$219K
proposed penalties
$190K
current assessed
$25K
paid to date
$165K
outstanding
218 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $32K in penalties contested before the Commission, $4K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2002-04-11.
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.
35.6%
significant & substantial
7.8%
high negligence or reckless
35.3%
reasonably likely or greater
28.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.1% low, 88.1% moderate, 6.4% high, 1.4% 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.
15.46
total case rate
13.08
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 6.94 and the all-US-mining average was 5.26 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2001 15.46 13.08 0.000
2000 * 7.59 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.
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: 2002-02-15, 24 years ago
82%
within 1.5 mg/m3
178
samples
11.71
dust max (mg/m3)
73 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 105 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR70
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)17
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR11

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2001-12-11, 24 years ago
13.9
silica avg (%)
15
samples
37.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR8
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2
  • CLEANING PLANT OPERATOR1

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: 2001-10-25, 24 years ago
10%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)4
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)4
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
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.
59 citations taken to the federal commission · 27% of citations on record
  • Settled 59 · 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 22 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
89%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$32K proposed, $4K 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 2003-05-20. 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
WEVA20030214 Settlement Zielinski 2005 $23K → $1K
WEVA20030215 Settlement Zielinski 2005 $7K → $1K
WEVA20030213 Settlement Zielinski 2005 $1K → $642
WEVA20030216 Settlement Zielinski 2005 $165 → $165
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2002
6 (1f)
2001
24
2000
4

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

Fatalities under this controller

1 recorded
February 20, 2002 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Midland Trail Resources LLC · Struck by falling object

ROOF FALL - FATAL - 30'X 30'INTERSECTION - SPAD #1003 - 1XCUT INBY. EE AND CO-WORKER WERE POSITIONED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CONTINUOUS MININGMACHINE WHEN THE ROOF BEGAN TO FALL WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Matt Evans; Donald Drabant 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.

See a sample report
Need a different cut of the data? Ask us