Mining Incidents

Area #8: 29 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Robert L Clear
Middlesboro, Bell County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1518496

Area #8 has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 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 2002
29
citations
14
significant & substantial
$3,017
proposed penalties
$3,017
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2002
26
inspections on record
369
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: 369 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Area #8 has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$3K
proposed penalties
$3K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
29 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2004-10-06.
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.
48.3%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
48.3%
reasonably likely or greater
6.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 10.3% low, 89.7% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Area #8 shows 100% of 53 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: 2004-11-11, 21 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
53
samples
1.18
dust max (mg/m3)
37 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 16 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR23
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR11
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE9

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2004-10-20, 21 years ago
19.5
silica avg (%)
7
samples
34.4
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5
  • 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: 2003-02-19, 23 years ago
10%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER3
  • HIGHWALL DRILL 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
2004 100% 24
2003 100% 16
2002 100% 13
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2004 31.1 2
2003 15.6 4
2002 12.1 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2003 0% 5
2002 20% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Area #8 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2004.

Injury rate, 2004
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 5.57 and the all-US-mining average was 4.33 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 5.89 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
2004 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2003 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2002 * 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. Robert Clear Coal Corporation 2001 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)
2005 3
2004 16 87,949
2003 29 261,902
2002 35 345,083
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Area #8 sits in Bell County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.6% 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.
Bell County, Kentucky · Population 23,878
3.6%
Mining share of county employment
$32,403
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
2005 Q3 0 0 0
2005 Q2 241 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 1,308 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 7,009 3 0 428.0
2004 Q3 17,678 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 5,623 4 3 711.4
2004 Q1 3,845 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 3,378 1 1 296.0
Show 7 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2003 Q3 13,834 7 2 506.0
2003 Q2 25,603 2 1 78.1
2003 Q1 24,736 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 25,831 1 0 38.7
2002 Q3 22,747 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 19,749 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 9,365 11 7 1174.6

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.