96% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $5,807 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
252
inspections on record
9,163
inspection hours
7.3
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.
672 citations across 9,163 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.
$129K
proposed penalties
$128K
current assessed
$124K
paid to date
$5K
outstanding
661 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $16K in penalties contested before the Commission, $15K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2009-02-23.
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.
6.62
total case rate
6.62
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 4.41 and the all-US-mining average was 3.61 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
2008 *
6.62
6.62
0.000
2007 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2006 *
25.01
10.00
0.000
2005 *
32.38
25.91
0.000
2004 *
6.70
0.00
0.000
2003 *
28.87
23.10
5.774
2002 *
5.10
0.00
0.000
2001 *
17.66
17.66
4.416
* 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: 2009-03-30, 17 years ago
95%
within 1.5 mg/m3
700
samples
5.32
dust max (mg/m3)
321 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 379 by the operator.
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.
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.
A FATAL ROOF FALL OCCURRED TO EE AS HE WAS RUNNING THRU AN INTERSECTION OF #3 ENTRY IN THE 1 LEFT SECTION. HE HAD BEEN SETTING BREAKER POSTS ON THE PILLARLINE WHEN HE HEARD THE TOP RUMBLING AN D HAD MOVED OUTBY ONE BLOCK AND STARTED THRU THECROSSCUT WHEN REACHING THE INTERSECTION, THE ROOF COLLAPSED ON HIM.
November 5, 2001WV · Coallaborer, bull gang, faceman, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scalerFatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
A ROOF FALL OCCURRED DURING MINING IN THE 5-LEFT WORKING SECTION WHILE CONNECTING THE XCUT BETWEEN NO. 7 AND NO. 8 ENTRIES. THE ROOF FALL RODE BACK THROUGHT THE INSTALLED ROOF BOLTS, STRIKING THE REMOTE CONTROLLED CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR AND MINER HELPER. THE MINER OPERATOR SUSTAINED SERIOUS PERSONAL INJURIES WHILE THE MINER HELPER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES.
August 27, 1990WV · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
WHILE ROOF BOLTING A PILLAR SPLIT IN BLOCK #75, 30 FEET INBY STATION NO. 488; IT APPEARS THE ROOF BOLTER WAS IN A BENT OVER POSITION, REMOVING A TWO FOOT DRILL STEEL WHEN A PIECE OF ROCK FELL (8 FT LONG, 51 INCHES AT WIDEST POINT AND 4 INCHES THICK) STRIKING THE EMPLOYEE WHICH CAUSED THE FATAL ACCIDENT.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Robert R Jeran 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.