Brownsville Mill has $106K in proposed MSHA penalties and $59K outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
7
Years on record
1990–2012
Latest incident
May 2012
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
185
citations
58
significant & substantial
$105,864
proposed penalties
$35,148
paid to date
33% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $70,716 gap.
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: 940 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Brownsville Mill has $106K in proposed MSHA penalties and $59K outstanding across 3 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.
$106K
proposed penalties
$94K
current assessed
$35K
paid to date
$59K
outstanding
175 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $21K in penalties contested before the Commission, $8K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-03-03.
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.
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.
10citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
Settled
9 · 90%
Vacated or withdrawn
1 · 10%
43%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 7 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
64%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$21K proposed, $8K 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 2013-05-31.
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.
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: 2023-07-19, 3 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
15
samples
8
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz6
Respirable dust, <.1mg4
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz3
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz2
Show the individual readings (15)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2023-07-19
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz
8.62
10
0.86
Hammer Mill Operator
2023-07-19
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz
1.19
10
0.12
Scraper Operator
2018-04-03
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Bagging Operator
2018-04-03
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.17
0.55
0.31
Hammer Mill Operator
2018-04-03
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Hammer Mill Operator
2018-04-03
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Bagging Operator
2014-10-23
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
2.18
3.03
0.72
Bagging Operator
2014-10-23
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.46
Ball Mill Operator
2014-10-23
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
1.81
3.04
0.60
Bagging Operator
2011-07-14
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.96
3.18
0.30
Bagging Operator
2011-07-14
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
2.01
2.61
0.77
Ball Mill Operator
2011-07-14
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.44
2.95
0.15
Bagging Operator
2008-03-27
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.16
Ball Mill Operator
2008-03-27
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Mechanic
2008-03-27
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.57
Bagging 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.
Brownsville Mill recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2018.
Injury rate, 2018
ⓘ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
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.95 and the all-US-mining average was 2.33 cases per 100 workers.
In Texas, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.77 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
2018 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2016 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2015 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2014 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2013 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2012 *
2.28
2.28
0.000
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.
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year
Employees
2024
12
2023
9
2022
6
2021
6
2020
6
2019
10
2018
12
2017
10
2016
11
2015
34
2014
46
2013
35
2012
47
2011
47
2010
9
2009
6
2008
7
2007
6
2006
6
2005
6
2004
6
2003
6
2002
5
2001
6
2000
6
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Brownsville Mill sits in Cameron County, Texas, where the Census mining category is 0.7% 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.
Cameron County, Texas · Population 423,192
0.7%
Mining share of county employment
$51,334
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
2024 Q2
2,800
0
0
0.0
2024 Q1
2,800
0
0
0.0
2023 Q4
2,800
8
2
2857.1
2023 Q3
2,800
3
0
1071.4
2022 Q4
2,880
0
0
0.0
2022 Q3
2,880
7
0
2430.6
2022 Q2
2,880
3
0
1041.7
2022 Q1
2,880
11
4
3819.4
Show 87 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2021 Q4
2,880
0
0
0.0
2021 Q3
2,880
0
0
0.0
2021 Q2
2,880
9
1
3125.0
2021 Q1
2,880
0
0
0.0
2020 Q4
2,880
4
0
1388.9
2020 Q3
2,880
0
0
0.0
2020 Q2
2,880
1
0
347.2
2020 Q1
2,880
2
0
694.4
2019 Q3
4,797
1
0
208.5
2019 Q2
4,703
0
0
0.0
2019 Q1
4,764
0
0
0.0
2018 Q4
3,716
2
0
538.2
2018 Q3
5,360
0
0
0.0
2018 Q2
5,617
2
0
356.1
2018 Q1
6,434
0
0
0.0
2017 Q4
5,184
3
0
578.7
2017 Q3
5,277
0
0
0.0
2017 Q2
4,253
3
1
705.4
2017 Q1
3,963
0
0
0.0
2016 Q4
2,812
0
0
0.0
2016 Q3
3,820
3
2
785.3
2016 Q2
4,485
0
0
0.0
2016 Q1
9,178
0
0
0.0
2015 Q4
14,731
6
2
407.3
2015 Q3
14,962
0
0
0.0
2015 Q2
15,531
2
1
128.8
2015 Q1
17,968
0
0
0.0
2014 Q4
21,712
2
0
92.1
2014 Q3
20,551
2
1
97.3
2014 Q2
18,697
0
0
0.0
2014 Q1
18,525
3
1
161.9
2013 Q4
18,914
0
0
0.0
2013 Q3
17,236
0
0
0.0
2013 Q2
15,037
2
0
133.0
2013 Q1
19,378
0
0
0.0
2012 Q4
17,630
5
0
283.6
2012 Q3
22,333
1
1
44.8
2012 Q2
22,658
3
2
132.4
2012 Q1
25,067
9
2
359.0
2011 Q4
22,639
0
0
0.0
2011 Q3
13,402
5
0
373.1
2011 Q2
11,800
0
0
0.0
2011 Q1
10,292
0
0
0.0
2010 Q4
6,820
1
0
146.6
2010 Q3
6,088
2
0
328.5
2010 Q2
3,902
0
0
0.0
2010 Q1
4,939
4
1
809.9
2009 Q4
4,615
0
0
0.0
2009 Q3
2,953
3
0
1015.9
2009 Q2
2,745
0
0
0.0
2009 Q1
3,431
5
1
1457.3
2008 Q4
4,924
0
0
0.0
2008 Q3
4,261
0
0
0.0
2008 Q2
3,472
0
0
0.0
2008 Q1
3,042
1
0
328.7
2007 Q4
3,331
2
2
600.4
2007 Q3
2,897
0
0
0.0
2007 Q2
2,684
0
0
0.0
2007 Q1
3,563
1
0
280.7
2006 Q4
3,302
0
0
0.0
2006 Q3
3,299
0
0
0.0
2006 Q2
3,855
5
5
1297.0
2006 Q1
3,762
0
0
0.0
2005 Q4
3,032
0
0
0.0
2005 Q3
3,467
0
0
0.0
2005 Q2
3,598
0
0
0.0
2005 Q1
3,199
4
2
1250.4
2004 Q4
3,247
0
0
0.0
2004 Q3
3,570
0
0
0.0
2004 Q2
3,657
0
0
0.0
2004 Q1
3,317
2
0
603.0
2003 Q4
3,137
1
0
318.8
2003 Q3
2,833
1
0
353.0
2003 Q2
2,106
0
0
0.0
2003 Q1
2,724
4
3
1468.4
2002 Q4
2,634
0
0
0.0
2002 Q3
2,858
1
0
349.9
2002 Q2
2,865
0
0
0.0
2002 Q1
2,595
5
4
1926.8
2001 Q4
2,722
0
0
0.0
2001 Q3
2,909
0
0
0.0
2001 Q2
2,429
0
0
0.0
2001 Q1
2,190
7
5
3196.3
2000 Q4
2,368
0
0
0.0
2000 Q3
2,910
6
4
2061.9
2000 Q2
2,881
5
2
1735.5
2000 Q1
3,051
0
0
0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
7 on file
2012 · 1 incident
May 5, 2012TX · Metal/Non-Metalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techSLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
EE was climbing an 8ft. ladder when the ladder slid downward and his left leg fell through the ladder and landed on the ladder with his left leg underneath the ladder step. This accident was not reported to the shift supervisor at the time it happened, it was not until the 8th of May in the morning when he stepped on a rock that he asked to leave work to go to the clinic.
1997 · 1 incident
July 9, 1997TX · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Milwhite, Inc. · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)
TIGHTENING CHAIN TO CRUSHER, CHAIN BROKE AND HIT EMPLOYEE IN THE EYE.
1990 · 5 incidents
October 15, 1990TX · Metal/Non-Metalwarehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operatorHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Milwhite, Inc. · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)
LOOSING PC OF PIPE WITH WRENCH STRAINED BACK
August 31, 1990TX · Metal/Non-Metalwarehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operatorHANDLING OF MATERIALS
Milwhite, Inc. · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)
EE WAS HANDLING A STEEL CABLE ROPE TO HOOK THE MILL WHIZZER SEPERATOR WHEN THE FRAYED SPOT ON THE CABLE PUNTURE HIS FINGER.
August 7, 1990TX · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanMACHINERY
Milwhite, Inc. · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)
HE WAS USING A PORTABLE GRINDER ON A WELD THAT WAS TO BE CUT & THE GRINDER KICKED BACK & CAUSED A SMALL CUT ON HIS LEFT SHIN
June 21, 1990TX · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Milwhite, Inc. · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)
WHILE TIGHTENING AND BEADING BOLTS ON MILL PLOWS, A PIECE OF METAL CAME LOOSE AND HIT HIM IN THE EYE.
February 6, 1990TX · Metal/Non-Metalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techIGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST