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Theodore L Darlington: 232 MSHA citations controller

MSHA controller ID: C13738

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Theodore L Darlington controls.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
95
Mines on record
5
Years on record
1988–2015
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
232
citations
83
significant & substantial
$70,274
proposed penalties
$49,754
paid to date
71% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $20,520 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
205
inspections on record
5,307
inspection hours
4.4
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.
232 citations across 5,307 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.
$70K
proposed penalties
$50K
current assessed
$50K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
225 assessments are final orders; 17 contested dockets.
Of $49K in penalties contested before the Commission, $28K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2021-04-28.
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.
36.4%
significant & substantial
3.1%
high negligence or reckless
36.6%
reasonably likely or greater
21.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 21.6% low, 75.3% moderate, 2.6% high, 0.4% reckless.
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.
5.33
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.96 and the all-US-mining average was 2.93 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
2014 * 5.33 0.00 0.000
2013 * 2.43 0.00 0.000
2012 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2011 2.15 1.08 0.000
2010 2.44 1.22 0.000
2009 2.89 2.89 0.000
2008 1.31 1.31 0.000
2007 0.00 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: 2016-03-24, 10 years ago
96%
within 1.5 mg/m3
325
samples
8.03
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.
265 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 60 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER83
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE55
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR44

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2012-11-21, 13 years ago
6.1
silica avg (%)
37
samples
19.7
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR18
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE8
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR7
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2015-10-29, 10 years ago
2%
over PEL
133
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER41
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE24
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR20
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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.
11 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 9 · 82%
  • Stood as issued 2 · 18%
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 6 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
45%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$21K proposed, $12K 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 2021-07-20. 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
LAKE 2005-77 Settlement Lesnick 2005 $14K → $7K
LAKE20010164 Settlement Barbour 2001 $6K → $3K
LAKE20010173 Settlement Barbour 2001 $6K → $3K
LAKE 2003-145 Settlement Lesnick 2003 $5K → $3K
LAKE 2003-165 Settlement Lesnick 2004 $4K → $2K
LAKE20010176 Settlement Barbour 2001 $4K → $2K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2015
1
2014
2
2013
1
2011
4
2010
2
2009
2
2008
1
2006
1
2004
1
2002
3
2001
1
2000
7
1998
3
1997
1
1995
3
1994
2
1993
7
1992
13
1991
5
1990
13
1989
19
1988
3

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Theodore L Darlington 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
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