Mining Incidents

Blahnik Portable: 36 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by CRH PLC
Hamilton, Ravalli County, MT  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 2401910

Blahnik Portable has $26K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
1990–1991
Latest incident
Mar 1991
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
36
citations
9
significant & substantial
$25,827
proposed penalties
$17,827
paid to date
69% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $8,000 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
11
inspections on record
159
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: 159 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Blahnik Portable has $26K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 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.
$26K
proposed penalties
$18K
current assessed
$18K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
36 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $19K in penalties contested before the Commission, $11K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2004-11-24.
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.
25.0%
significant & substantial
16.7%
high negligence or reckless
25.0%
reasonably likely or greater
72.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 5.6% low, 77.8% moderate, 16.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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
WEST20020311M Settlement Manning 2002 $15K → $9K
WEST20030041M Settlement Barbour 2003 $4K → $2K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2004-06-30, 22 years ago
67%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
3
samples
3
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz32 over
Show the individual readings (3)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2004-06-30 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.67 0.39 1.72 Cleanup Man
2004-06-30 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.03 0.34 3.03 Crusher Oper/Worker
2004-06-30 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.16 0.62 0.26 Bulldozer Operator
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Blahnik Construction Inc 1990 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2006 0
2005 1
2004 2
2003 10
2002 12
2001 12
2000 11
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Blahnik Portable sits in Ravalli County, Montana, where the Census mining category is 1.2% 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.
Ravalli County, Montana · Population 45,807
1.2%
Mining share of county employment
$71,323
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
2006 Q2 0 0 0
2006 Q1 0 0 0
2005 Q4 0 0 0
2005 Q3 0 0 0
2005 Q2 0 0 0
2005 Q1 1,180 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 1,878 7 1 3727.4
2004 Q3 2,014 0 0 0.0
Show 18 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2004 Q2 256 8 2 31250.0
2004 Q1 0 0 0
2003 Q4 5,094 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 5,696 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 5,083 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 1,607 2 0 1244.6
2002 Q4 4,441 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 4,030 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 3,043 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 2,048 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 4,795 2 1 417.1
2001 Q3 6,894 17 5 2465.9
2001 Q2 4,382 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 3,266 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 2,509 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 6,575 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 6,728 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 3,561 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

1991 · 1 incident

March 22, 1991 MT · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Blahnik Construction Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects

UPON INTERVIEWING EMPLOYEE, THE CONDITIONS CONTIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT ARE UNCLEAR. EMPLOYEE STATED THAT HE STRAINED HIS BACK BUT COULD NOT SAY WHAT HE WAS DOING, HE BELIEVES IT WAS FROM LIFTI NG, BUT CAN'T LINK THE INJURY TO LIFTING ANYTHING SPECIFIC.

1990 · 1 incident