Mining Incidents

#5A: 328 MSHA citations Coal

North Star Mining Inc. · Underground
Controlled by Carl Kirk
Dana, Floyd County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1513061

#5A has $245K in proposed MSHA penalties and $236K outstanding across 5 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2008
Latest incident
Mar 2008
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2007
328
citations
119
significant & substantial
$245,231
proposed penalties
$7,942
paid to date
3% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $237,289 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2007
17
inspections on record
1,668
inspection hours
19.7
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.
328 citations across 1,668 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

#5A has $245K in proposed MSHA penalties and $236K outstanding across 5 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.
$245K
proposed penalties
$244K
current assessed
$8K
paid to date
$236K
outstanding
318 assessments are final orders; 5 contested dockets.
Of $88K in penalties contested before the Commission, $87K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2009-03-03.
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.
37.4%
significant & substantial
3.1%
high negligence or reckless
37.4%
reasonably likely or greater
9.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.3% low, 90.6% moderate, 3.1% high, 0.0% 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.
83 citations taken to the federal commission · 25% of citations on record
  • Settled 67 · 81%
  • Stood as issued 16 · 19%
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 34 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
1%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$88K proposed, $87K 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 2009-03-17.
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
KENT 2009-801 Settlement Melick 2010 $32K → $32K
KENT 2009-721 Default Lesnick 2011 $29K → $29K
KENT 2009-538 Dismissal Bulluck 2010 $12K → $12K
KENT 2009-450 Default Barbour 2011 $10K → $10K
KENT 2009-539 Settlement Lesnick 2010 $5K → $3K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at #5A shows 94% of 89 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: 2009-03-17, 17 years ago
94%
within 1.5 mg/m3
89
samples
2.37
dust max (mg/m3)
49 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 40 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR41
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)9
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR7

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2009-03-27, 17 years ago
8.5
silica avg (%)
7
samples
14.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR4

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: 2008-03-18, 18 years ago
0%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)2
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (OFF STANDARD)2
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
2009 100% 14
2008 91% 53
2007 100% 22
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2009 5.0 1
2008 9.2 5
2007 8.4 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2008 0% 5
2007 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

#5A recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2008.

Injury rate, 2008
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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 4.41 and the all-US-mining average was 3.61 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.87 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.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2008 * 0.00 0.00 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.
Ownership history
  1. Ban-Prat Coal Company Inc 1981 to 1985
  2. Diamond N Mining Inc 1985 to 2006
  3. 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)
2009 20 29,083
2008 31 84,597
2007 29 65,447
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

#5A 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
2009 Q2 757 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 16,920 37 10 2186.8
2008 Q4 19,602 89 30 4540.4
2008 Q3 16,832 7 3 415.9
2008 Q2 12,913 21 10 1626.3
2008 Q1 12,988 48 18 3695.7
2007 Q4 20,749 44 13 2120.6
2007 Q3 18,614 45 18 2417.5
Show 2 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2007 Q2 10,595 32 15 3020.3
2007 Q1 1,601 2 0 1249.2
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2008 · 1 incident

March 10, 2008 KY · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
North Star Mining Inc. · Accident type, without injuries

The fall is located 20' inby survey station #218 in the #3 entry 4 crosscuts outby the section loading point of the 001 MMU. The fall is approx 120' wide X 20' wide X 4'-5' in thickness.