Mining Incidents

Randy C Rothermel: 117 MSHA citations controller

MSHA controller ID: C04142

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
8
Mines on record
3
Years on record
1985–2011
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
117
citations
26
significant & substantial
$12,288
proposed penalties
$5,484
paid to date
45% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $6,804 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
215
inspections on record
4,625
inspection hours
2.5
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.
117 citations across 4,625 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.
$12K
proposed penalties
$10K
current assessed
$5K
paid to date
$4K
outstanding
108 assessments are final orders; 19 contested dockets.
Of $7K in penalties contested before the Commission, $4K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2014-11-19.
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.
24.1%
significant & substantial
8.3%
high negligence or reckless
25.9%
reasonably likely or greater
10.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.9% none, 20.4% low, 70.4% moderate, 7.4% high, 0.9% 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.

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: 2014-11-25, 11 years ago
98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
641
samples
3.56
dust max (mg/m3)
0
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.
309 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 332 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HAND LOADERS403
  • LABORER65
  • MOTORMAN30

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2012-03-07, 14 years ago
4.7
silica avg (%)
6
samples
15.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HAND LOADERS6

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: 2013-12-11, 12 years ago
0%
over PEL
61
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • LABORER17
  • HAND LOADERS13
  • LABORER/BLACKSMITH12
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.
43 citations taken to the federal commission · 37% of citations on record
  • Settled 34 · 79%
  • Stood as issued 9 · 21%
67%
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 21 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
38%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$6K 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 2011-09-07. 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
PENN 2006-83 Settlement Weisberger 2006 $1K → $449
PENN 2006-64 Settlement Weisberger 2006 $935 → $935
PENN 2006-161 Settlement Zielinski 2007 $704 → $231
PENN 2005-262 Settlement Melick 2006 $502 → $245
PENN 2005-284 Settlement Weisberger 2005 $450 → $125
PENN 2005-205 Settlement Melick 2006 $447 → $361
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2011
1
2001
1
1997
1
1996
1
1995
1
1993
1
1990
1
1985
1

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Randy C Rothermel 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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