Mining Incidents

#4B: 73 MSHA citations Coal

North Star Mining Inc · Underground
Controlled by Carl Kirk
Turkey Creek, Floyd County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1519000

#4B has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $7K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2006–2007
Latest incident
Apr 2007
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2006
73
citations
26
significant & substantial
$10,443
proposed penalties
$3,061
paid to date
29% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $7,382 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2006
12
inspections on record
442
inspection hours
n/a
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.
Rate withheld: 442 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

#4B has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $7K 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.
$10K
proposed penalties
$10K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$7K
outstanding
73 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2007-07-27.
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.
35.6%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
35.6%
reasonably likely or greater
17.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 5.5% low, 94.5% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at #4B shows 92% of 59 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: 2007-07-17, 19 years ago
92%
within 1.5 mg/m3
59
samples
2.50
dust max (mg/m3)
31 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 28 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR30
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)7
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR4

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2007-07-10, 19 years ago
8.2
silica avg (%)
7
samples
10.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR5

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: 2007-04-24, 19 years ago
10%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)2
  • SECTION FOREMAN2
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 97% 37
2006 82% 22
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2007 8.5 6
2006 6.6 1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

#4B recorded 5.30 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2007.

Injury rate, 2007
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.
5.30
total case rate
5.30
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 4.71 and the all-US-mining average was 3.77 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 5.12 cases per 100 workers that year.
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.
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.
Ownership history
  1. North Star Mining Inc 2006 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 27 79,816
2006 26 88,000
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

#4B sits in Floyd County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.4% 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.
Floyd County, Kentucky · Population 35,342
4.4%
Mining share of county employment
$41,582
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 Q4 0 0 0
2007 Q3 5,014 5 1 997.2
2007 Q2 16,050 21 9 1308.4
2007 Q1 16,694 18 1 1078.2
2006 Q4 17,475 3 0 171.7
2006 Q3 13,953 20 13 1433.4
2006 Q2 431 6 2 13921.1
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2007 · 1 incident

2006 · 1 incident

December 9, 2006 KY · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
North Star Mining Inc · Struck by falling object

Bent over to get dust box sealed, drawrock fell hitting him in the lower back.