Mining Incidents

#1 Slope: 127 MSHA citations Coal

F K Z Coal Inc · Underground
Locust Gap, Northumberland County, PA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3608637

#1 Slope has $98K in proposed MSHA penalties and $34K outstanding across 17 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
1999
Latest incident
May 1999
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
127
citations
50
significant & substantial
$97,508
proposed penalties
$22,532
paid to date
23% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $74,976 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
156
inspections on record
2,501
inspection hours
5.1
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.
127 citations across 2,501 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

#1 Slope has $98K in proposed MSHA penalties and $34K outstanding across 17 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.
$98K
proposed penalties
$57K
current assessed
$23K
paid to date
$34K
outstanding
123 assessments are final orders; 17 contested dockets.
Of $93K in penalties contested before the Commission, $47K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2011-04-25.
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.
40.7%
significant & substantial
18.7%
high negligence or reckless
40.7%
reasonably likely or greater
17.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 14.6% low, 66.7% moderate, 15.4% high, 3.3% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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.
77 citations taken to the federal commission · 61% of citations on record
  • Settled 53 · 69%
  • Stood as issued 24 · 31%
88%
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 51 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
50%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$92K proposed, $46K 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 2009-09-23.
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 mine contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
PENN 2009-127 Settlement Melick 2011 $82K → $42K
PENN 2005-195 Dismissal Lesnick 2005 $4K → $0
PENN 2006-278 Settlement Lesnick 2007 $918 → $600
PENN 2005-196 Dismissal Lesnick 2005 $884 → $0
PENN 2008-66 Settlement Lesnick 2008 $728 → $728
PENN 2007-339 Settlement Lesnick 2008 $699 → $509
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at #1 Slope shows 99% of 390 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: 2011-04-27, 15 years ago
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
390
samples
2.34
dust max (mg/m3)
186 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 204 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HAND LOADERS246
  • LABORER43
  • HOIST ENGINEER/OPERATOR35

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2011-01-26, 15 years ago
2.0
silica avg (%)
7
samples
3.4
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HAND LOADERS7

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: 2011-03-22, 15 years ago
0%
over PEL
64
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • LABORER21
  • HAND LOADERS17
  • HOIST ENGINEER/OPERATOR17
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
2011 100% 20
2010 100% 61
2009 98% 62
2008 97% 38
2007 100% 16
2004 100% 11
2003 100% 46
2002 100% 45
2001 100% 50
2000 98% 41
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2011 1.8 1
2009 2.2 3
2004 3.4 1
2000 0.9 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2011 0% 6
2010 0% 12
2009 0% 12
2008 0% 7
2007 0% 4
2003 0% 6
2002 0% 3
2001 0% 8
2000 0% 6
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. F K Z Coal Inc 1997 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)
2011 7 972
2010 8 3,641
2009 7 2,878
2008 5 1,350
2007 4 625
2006 3 25
2005 1
2004 1 155
2003 3 1,469
2002 3 1,806
2001 4 3,492
2000 3 656
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

#1 Slope sits in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 0.6% 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.
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania · Population 90,925
0.6%
Mining share of county employment
$57,948
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
2011 Q1 2,590 1 0 386.1
2010 Q4 3,010 2 0 664.5
2010 Q3 3,003 2 0 666.0
2010 Q2 3,150 1 0 317.5
2010 Q1 3,150 9 3 2857.1
2009 Q4 3,327 3 1 901.7
2009 Q3 2,184 2 1 915.8
2009 Q2 2,520 2 0 793.7
Show 32 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2009 Q1 1,820 1 0 549.5
2008 Q4 2,800 10 1 3571.4
2008 Q3 1,560 3 0 1923.1
2008 Q2 1,680 1 1 595.2
2008 Q1 1,350 1 0 740.7
2007 Q4 1,200 27 18 22500.0
2007 Q3 960 7 2 7291.7
2007 Q2 250 4 1 16000.0
2007 Q1 20 4 1 200000.0
2006 Q2 360 18 15 50000.0
2006 Q1 123 7 2 56910.6
2005 Q4 92 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 0 0 0
2005 Q2 0 0 0
2004 Q2 0 0 0
2004 Q1 154 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 383 1 1 2611.0
2003 Q3 550 1 0 1818.2
2003 Q2 900 2 0 2222.2
2003 Q1 900 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 400 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 435 1 0 2298.9
2002 Q2 750 2 1 2666.7
2002 Q1 450 3 0 6666.7
2001 Q4 600 1 0 1666.7
2001 Q3 1,200 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 1,200 1 0 833.3
2001 Q1 450 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 475 2 0 4210.5
2000 Q3 435 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 230 4 2 17391.3
2000 Q1 270 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

1999 · 1 incident

May 12, 1999 PA · Coal laborer, bull gang, faceman, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler MACHINERY
F K Z Coal Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EMPLOYEE CLAIMED PINNED BETWEEN PROP AND DRAG BUCKET FOR 3 OR 4 SECONDS. HE WALKED TO WHERE DRAGOPERATOR WAS AND THREW A ROCK AT HIM, THEN RETURNED TO WORK TO FINISH OUT SHIFT. WHEN ASKED IF H E WAS ALRIGHT, HE SAID YES. TWO DAYS LATER HE TOOK OFF FROM WORK AND WENT TO SUNBURY HOSPITAL.