Mining Incidents

Area #2: 84 MSHA citations Coal

JEF TN, LLC · Surface
Lafollette, Campbell County, TN  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4003318

Area #2 has $13K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 11 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
84
citations
45
significant & substantial
$13,265
proposed penalties
$9,463
paid to date
71% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $3,802 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
46
inspections on record
1,126
inspection hours
7.5
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.
84 citations across 1,126 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Area #2 has $13K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 11 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.
$13K
proposed penalties
$11K
current assessed
$9K
paid to date
$2K
outstanding
80 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $12K in penalties contested before the Commission, $9K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-06-19.
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.
55.6%
significant & substantial
4.9%
high negligence or reckless
55.6%
reasonably likely or greater
28.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 7.4% low, 87.7% moderate, 4.9% 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.
75 citations taken to the federal commission · 89% of citations on record
  • Settled 62 · 83%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 13 · 17%
83%
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 47 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
28%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$12K proposed, $9K 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 2012-04-18.
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
SE 2011-463 Settlement Gill 2013 $3K → $3K
SE 2010-1110 Settlement Gill 2013 $2K → $2K
SE 2009-72 Settlement Miller 2010 $2K → $1K
SE 2009-71 Settlement Miller 2010 $1K → $601
SE 2009-471 Settlement Miller 2010 $1K → $700
SE 2008-1045 Settlement Weisberger 2012 $727 → $600
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Area #2 shows 100% of 69 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: 2018-03-30, 8 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
69
samples
0.75
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.
61 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 8 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE27
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR18
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR6

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2018-01-25, 8 years ago
4.7
silica avg (%)
6
samples
13.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR4
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR2

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: 2018-01-18, 8 years ago
7%
over PEL
56
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE24
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR14
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR2
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
2018 100% 7
2017 100% 8
2016 100% 12
2012 100% 6
2011 100% 11
2010 100% 11
2009 100% 12
2008 100% 2
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2018 1.0 3
2017 8.2 2
2016 9.0 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2018 0% 5
2017 0% 3
2016 11% 9
2012 0% 5
2011 10% 10
2010 10% 10
2009 8% 13
2008 0% 1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Area #2 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2011.

Injury rate, 2011
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 3.83 and the all-US-mining average was 3.08 cases per 100 workers.
In Tennessee, coal mining averaged 4.18 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
2011 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2010 * 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. Triple H Coal, LLC 2008 to 2016
  2. Dixie Carbon, Inc. 2016 to 2017
  3. JEF TN, LLC 2017 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)
2018 12 4,751
2017 8 9,994
2016 1
2015 0
2014 0
2013 1
2012 8 2,603
2011 10 6,058
2010 9 7,346
2009 2 1,204
2008 8 2,338
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Area #2 sits in Campbell County, Tennessee, 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.
Campbell County, Tennessee · Population 39,568
0.6%
Mining share of county employment
$50,260
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
2018 Q2 900 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 7,378 2 0 271.1
2017 Q4 7,226 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 4,964 1 0 201.5
2017 Q2 2,266 1 0 441.3
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 0 0 0
Show 33 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2016 Q2 0 1 0
2016 Q1 625 5 2 8000.0
2015 Q4 0 0 0
2015 Q3 0 0 0
2015 Q2 0 0 0
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 0 0 0
2014 Q3 0 0 0
2014 Q2 0 0 0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 0 0 0
2013 Q3 0 0 0
2013 Q2 2,120 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 0 0 0
2012 Q3 3,039 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 5,470 1 0 182.8
2012 Q1 6,389 2 0 313.0
2011 Q4 6,206 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 5,991 2 0 333.8
2011 Q2 6,095 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 5,214 9 5 1726.1
2010 Q4 5,692 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 6,649 5 1 752.0
2010 Q2 6,141 18 15 2931.1
2010 Q1 3,308 3 1 906.9
2009 Q4 0 0 0
2009 Q3 0 5 1
2009 Q2 0 0 0
2009 Q1 4,275 7 4 1637.4
2008 Q4 4,649 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 4,086 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 1,204 21 16 17441.9

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.