74% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $66,388 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
221
inspections on record
8,241
inspection hours
10.3
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.
851 citations across 8,241 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.
$253K
proposed penalties
$187K
current assessed
$187K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
823 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $144K in penalties contested before the Commission, $77K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2009-02-05.
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.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2008
ⓘ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.
3.06
total case rate
0.77
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
About average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 3.15 and the all-US-mining average was 3.61 cases per 100 workers.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2008
3.06
0.77
0.000
2007
2.15
0.36
0.000
2006
2.79
0.00
0.000
2005
4.63
0.77
0.086
2004
3.41
0.60
0.000
2003
2.98
0.39
0.000
2002
3.37
0.15
0.000
2001
4.00
0.71
0.118
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.
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: 2006-06-27, 20 years ago
24%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
122
samples
107
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Total Carbon,calculated from elemental carbon.3717 over
Total Carbon,TC3715 over
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz407 over
Diesel Particulate Material112 over
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.
5citations taken to the federal commission · 1% of citations on record
Settled
2 · 40%
Stood as issued
3 · 60%
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 5 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
32%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$59K proposed, $40K 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 2009-04-06. 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.
2 ELECTRICIANS INSPECTING A 13,800 VOLT TO 2400 VOLT TRANSFORMER NEAR COLLAR OF SHAFT #1. ONE ELECTRICIAN CONTACTED ONE OR MORE PHASES ON THE HIGH VOLTAGE TAPS RESULTING IN A FATAL ELECTROCUTION OF THE ELECTRICAL FOREMAN.
EMPLOYEE WAS INSTALLING 6' SPLIT-SET BOLTS AND WIRE MESH FOR GROUND SUPPORT IN THE LAST ROUND BLASTED USING A JACKLEG DRILL FOR INSTALLATION OF GROUND SUPPORT. DURING BOLTING CYCLE, A MAJOR FA LL OF GROUND OCCURRED BURYING EMPLOYEE.
October 12, 1999NV · Metal/Non-Metalsection foreman, bullgang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, shift bossFatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
EMPOLOYEE WAS INSTALLING 6' SPLIT-SET ROCK BOLTS AND WIRE MESH IN THE LAST ROUND BLASTED WITH A JACKLEG DRILL. DURING THE BOLTING CYCLE, A MAJOR FALL OF GROUND OCCURRED AND EMPLOYEE WAS BURIED AND FATALLY INJURED.
September 27, 1992MT · Metal/Non-Metalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
THREE EMPLOYEES WERE RETURNING TO THE OFFICE AREA AT THE END OF THEIR SHIFT FROM THE PIT WHEN A BRAKE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE DRIVER LOST CONTROL AND ROLLED 1 1/2 TIMES EJECTING THE DRIVER AND O NE PASSENGER, THROWING THE DRIVER AND ONE OF ONE
September 27, 1992MT · Metal/Non-Metalwelder (shop)Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
THREEE EMPLOYEES WERE RETURNING TO OFFICE AREA AT THE END OF THEIR SHIFT FROM THE PIT WHEN A BRAKE FAILURE OCCURRED-THE TRUCK WAS OUT OF CONTROL AND ROLLED 1 1/2 TIMES EJECTING THE DRIVER AND A PASSENGER, THROWING THE DRIVER AND ONE OF THE EMPLOYEE OUT OF THE TRUCK.
AS HE BACKED UP3TO THE BERM TO DUMP HIS LOAD, THE FLOOR OF THE STOCKPILE GAVE WAY AND THE TRUCK WENT DOWN THE FACE OF THE STOCKPILE BACKWARDS AND CAME TO REST ON ITS TOP.
September 16, 1987MT · Metal/Non-Metalwarehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operatorFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
EMPLOYEE CRAWLE8 UNDER BEND PULLEY GUARD TO RETRIEVE A HAMMER AND ON H IS WAY OUT HE BECAME ENTANGLED BETWEEN THE CONVEYOR BELT AND PULLEY. HE WAS PULLED THRU AND HE DROPPED 34 FT TO THE LEVEL BELOW. AL5 CRUSHING INJURIES WERE SUSTAINED DURING THE TRIP THRU THE PULLEY
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Placer Dome Ltd 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.