Mining Incidents

#1: 274 MSHA citations Coal

Three Bells, LLC · Underground
Controlled by Ronald L Gray
Williamsburg, Whitley County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1517074

#1 has $20K in proposed MSHA penalties and $19K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at #1.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
1996
Latest incident
Jul 1996
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
274
citations
98
significant & substantial
$20,408
proposed penalties
$1,011
paid to date
5% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $19,397 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
94
inspections on record
2,221
inspection hours
12.3
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.
274 citations across 2,221 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

#1 has $20K in proposed MSHA penalties and $19K outstanding across 0 contested dockets.

Penalty disposition
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$20K
proposed penalties
$20K
current assessed
$1K
paid to date
$19K
outstanding
261 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2007-05-07.
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.
37.5%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
37.5%
reasonably likely or greater
0.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 14.6% low, 85.4% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at #1 shows 95% of 258 respirable coal dust samples met the 1.5 mg/m3 standard.

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: 2007-03-30, 19 years ago
95%
within 1.5 mg/m3
258
samples
5.66
dust max (mg/m3)
146 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 112 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • MOBILE BRIDGE OPERATOR51
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR44
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR27

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2006-05-17, 20 years ago
4.8
silica avg (%)
10
samples
9.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR1

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: 2006-03-20, 20 years ago
3%
over PEL
31
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)8
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR5
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Health sampling trend
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 by year
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.
Year within 1.5 mg/m3 samples
2007 94% 18
2006 98% 54
2005 100% 11
2004 100% 44
2003 100% 16
2002 83% 42
2001 95% 61
2000 92% 12
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2006 3.9 2
2002 5.8 4
2001 2.4 1
2000 4.8 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2006 0% 2
2004 0% 4
2003 0% 9
2002 0% 4
2001 0% 5
2000 14% 7
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Gatliff Coal Company Inc 1991 to 1998
  2. Headache Coal Company Inc 1998 to 2000
  3. Roses Creek Mining Inc 2000 to 2002
  4. P C Contracting Inc. 2002 to 2003
  5. JEM Coal Incorporated 2003 to 2003
  6. Wilcoal Mining Inc. 2003 to 2005
  7. Three Bells, LLC 2005 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Coal production is reported quarterly and lags the current period; the most recent quarters may be incomplete.
Year Employees Coal produced (tons)
2007 7 8,250
2006 6 20,774
2005 6 9,193
2000 5 6,710
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

#1 sits in Whitley County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 0.0% of county employment.

Local economic context
County figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 5-year pooled estimates, so the 2023 vintage covers 2019 through 2023. The Census category is 'mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction', which is broader than MSHA jurisdiction and includes oil and gas workers no mine employs. These figures describe the surrounding county, not this mine, and are not a factor in any specific incident.
Whitley County, Kentucky · Population 36,755
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$41,719
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
Quarterly safety rates
Citations per million reported employee-hours. Rates begin in 2000, when MSHA's quarterly employment data starts; earlier incidents are counted but cannot be rate-adjusted. Quarters under 100,000 reported hours are greyed: too few hours for a stable rate.
Citations per million employee-hours, as reported to MSHA
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2007 Q2 1,572 6 2 3816.8
2007 Q1 3,478 4 0 1150.1
2006 Q4 2,913 11 3 3776.2
2006 Q3 2,315 11 8 4751.6
2006 Q2 3,798 5 1 1316.5
2006 Q1 1,278 15 13 11737.1
2005 Q4 3,200 3 0 937.5
2005 Q3 1,408 4 2 2840.9
Show 2 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2000 Q2 0 0 0
2000 Q1 6,102 8 4 1311.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

1996 · 1 incident

July 29, 1996 KY · Coal electrician, lineman HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Gatliff Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion in pulling or pushing objects

EE LIFTED A RUBRAIL ON THE SIDE OF THE MINER EARLIER THIS MORNING. LATER IN THE DAY AS THE MINER WAS BACKING OUT OF THE CUT, THE EE WAS PULLING A WATER LINE AND FELT A MUSCLE PULL IN HIS LOWER BACK.