82% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $257,470 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
1,198
inspections on record
27,584
inspection hours
11.8
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.
3,259 citations across 27,584 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘA Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
2
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2014-07-01.
On record since 2011.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, 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.
$1.4M
proposed penalties
$1.1M
current assessed
$1.1M
paid to date
$181
outstanding
3,180 assessments are final orders; 94 contested dockets.
Of $869K in penalties contested before the Commission, $614K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-06-01.
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, 2014
ⓘ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.
8.66
total case rate
1.82
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 2.39 and the all-US-mining average was 2.93 cases per 100 workers.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2014
8.66
1.82
0.000
2013
7.25
1.45
0.000
2012
8.76
1.10
0.000
2011
7.59
1.76
0.000
2010
6.75
0.45
0.000
2009
7.31
1.00
0.000
2008
6.55
0.92
0.000
2007
6.36
1.04
0.000
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: 2013-03-06, 13 years ago
4%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
460
samples
292
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz11810 over
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz431 over
Respirable dust, <.1mg136
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz29
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2010-10-06, 15 years ago
1
samples
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.
441citations taken to the federal commission · 14% of citations on record
Settled
420 · 95%
Stood as issued
19 · 4%
Vacated or withdrawn
2 · 0%
78%
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 184 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
28%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$780K proposed, $559K 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 2014-11-12. 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.
January 21, 2008CA · Metal/Non-Metalhaul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driverFatality · SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Employee received a load of cement by the TXI scale person. After he received his load he pulled forward to a stationary rack designed for safe access to the top of each trailer. He closed all but 1 latch on the A trailer when he fell to the ground landing on his head. He was found at 1:30 pm lying on his back behind the second axle driver's side.
4 MEN WERE GOUGING WHEN A SMALL FIRESTARTED. THE FIRE WAS EXTIQUISHED AND THE MEN WENT BACK TO WORK. WHEN TWO OF THE MEN WERE SUDDENLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES.
March 30, 2002TX · Metal/Non-Metalwarehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operatorFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
FELLOW EMPLOYEES ALLEGE THAT DRAG CONVEYOR WAS LOCKED UP DUE TO CLOGGED CLINKER. WHEN CLINKER WAS DUMPED, IT HIT STANDING WATER CAUSING STEAM. THE STEAM BURNED EMPLOYEE ON 47% OF HIS BODY.
EE WALKING OR GRATING AT ELEVATION 719 TO RETREIVE TORCH SET. EE WAS NOT TIED OFF WHILE EXPLOSED TO FALL HAZARD. EE WAS WEARING PERSONAL FALL ARREST SYSTEM HARNESS AND 2 LANDYARDS. EE STEPPED ON GRATING THAT HE INSTALLED THE DAY BEFORE BUT WHICH HAD NOT YET BEEN WELDED TO THE STRUCTURE. THE GRATE 107 X 24 SHIFTED AND EE FELL 48" TO CONCRETE BELOW.
June 19, 2000TX · Metal/Non-Metaltruck driverFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
A CUSTOMER DRIVING A DUMP TRUCK WAS STRUCK BY A TRAIN WHILE ENTERING THE PLANT. HE DID NOT STOP AT THE STOP SIGN. THE TRAIN PUSHED THE TRUCK APPROX. 800 FT DOWN THE TRACKS. THE DRIVER DIED OF RESULTING INJURIES.
October 2, 1991TX · Metal/Non-Metalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorFatality · POWERED HAULAGE
ON 10-2-91, HE WAS OPERATING A 1455B CASE LOADER PUSHING LOOSE OVERBURDEN DOWN A SLOPE TO BE LOADED ONTO HAUL TRUCKS WHEN, FOR REASONS UNKNOWN, FROM HIS WORK AREA HE BACKED UP FOR SIXTY FEET A ND OVER A FOUR FOOT SAFETY BERM, AND THEN ANOTHER FORTY FEET TO THE EDGE OF THE HIGHWALL AND OVER. HE FELL APPROX. FORTY FEET TO THE QUARRY FLOOR RESULTING IN HIS DEATH.
EMP FAILED TO FOLLOW PROPER PROCEDURE FOR TURNING PONTOONS FOR SAFE ACCESS TO FIND AND MAKE REPAIRS. INSTEAD PONTOON WAS SUSPENDED ON STEEL CHAIN WRAPPED AROUND TWO BUCKET TEETH OF TRACKHOE. A ND CHAIN SLIPPED OFF OF TEETH CAUSING THE PONTOON TO FALL.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Texas Industries Inc 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.