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Buckeye Mine: 98 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by James C Justice III
Jolo, Mcdowell, Mcdowell County, WV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4608769

Buckeye Mine has $49K in proposed MSHA penalties and $4K outstanding across 9 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
1999–2009
Latest incident
Mar 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
98
citations
28
significant & substantial
$48,666
proposed penalties
$32,856
paid to date
68% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $15,810 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See NuFac Mining Company, Inc.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
32
inspections on record
1,225
inspection hours
8.0
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.
98 citations across 1,225 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Buckeye Mine has $49K in proposed MSHA penalties and $4K outstanding across 9 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.
$49K
proposed penalties
$36K
current assessed
$33K
paid to date
$4K
outstanding
96 assessments are final orders; 9 contested dockets.
Of $45K in penalties contested before the Commission, $29K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-04-19.
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.
29.2%
significant & substantial
5.2%
high negligence or reckless
30.2%
reasonably likely or greater
17.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 3.1% none, 24.0% low, 67.7% moderate, 5.2% 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.
58 citations taken to the federal commission · 59% of citations on record
  • Settled 46 · 79%
  • Stood as issued 10 · 17%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 2 · 3%
71%
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 24 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
37%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$45K proposed, $29K 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 2010-06-30.
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
WEVA 2009-1573 Settlement 2010 $23K → $15K
WEVA 2009-1953 Dismissal Andrews 2011 $8K → $5K
WEVA 2010-714 Settlement Tureck 2013 $5K → $4K
WEVA 2009-1741 Settlement 2011 $4K → $1K
WEVA 2010-713 Settlement Andrews 2011 $2K → $2K
WEVA 2009-1574 Settlement 2010 $2K → $1K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Buckeye Mine shows 92% of 105 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: 2010-01-20, 16 years ago
92%
within 1.5 mg/m3
105
samples
4.46
dust max (mg/m3)
49 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 56 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR54
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)12
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)10

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2009-12-15, 16 years ago
4.8
silica avg (%)
9
samples
7.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR8
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2009-02-24, 17 years ago
20%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)3
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)2
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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
2010 100% 5
2009 96% 53
2000 87% 47
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2009 5.3 5
2000 4.3 4
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2009 20% 5
2000 20% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Buckeye Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2009.

Injury rate, 2009
ⓘ 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 4.16 and the all-US-mining average was 3.36 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 4.29 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.
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. Wesley Leasing Inc 1999 to 2006
  2. Coal America, Inc. 2006 to 2008
  3. Buckeye Energy Inc 2008 to 2008
  4. NuFac Mining Company, Inc. 2008 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)
2020 0
2019 0
2018 0
2017 0
2016 0
2015 0
2014 0
2013 0
2012 0
2011 0
2010 7 3,696
2009 40 64,042
2001 0
2000 9 36,754
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Buckeye Mine sits in McDowell County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 13.0% 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.
McDowell County, West Virginia · Population 18,413
13.0%
Mining share of county employment
$29,980
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
2020 Q2 0 0 0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 0 0 0
2019 Q3 0 0 0
2019 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q3 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
Show 40 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2017 Q4 0 0 0
2017 Q3 0 0 0
2017 Q2 0 0 0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 0 0 0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2016 Q1 0 0 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 0 0 0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 0 0 0
2012 Q3 0 0 0
2012 Q2 0 0 0
2012 Q1 0 0 0
2011 Q4 0 0 0
2011 Q3 0 0 0
2011 Q2 0 0 0
2010 Q4 0 0 0
2010 Q3 0 0 0
2010 Q2 1,055 1 0 947.9
2010 Q1 14,279 1 0 70.0
2009 Q4 21,303 30 10 1408.3
2009 Q3 13,162 14 2 1063.7
2009 Q2 20,990 14 9 667.0
2009 Q1 8,042 18 4 2238.2
2001 Q1 0 0 0
2000 Q4 800 2 0 2500.0
2000 Q3 4,675 5 2 1069.5
2000 Q2 4,750 5 0 1052.6
2000 Q1 4,320 8 1 1851.9
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2009 · 2 incidents

March 30, 2009 WV · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
NuFac Mining Company, Inc. · Accident type, without injuries

A roof fall occurred in No #5 last open crosscut. Extanded into No. 5 to 4 crosscut. The fall was 8 ft high, 20 ft wide, 60 ft in length. The continuous miner was caught under the fall.

1999 · 1 incident

November 20, 1999 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
Wesley Leasing Inc · Struck by falling object

ROOF BOLTER OPERATOR WAS BOLTING IN #4 HEADING WHEN A PIECE OF DRAW ROCK BETWEEN THE ROOF BOLTS FELL STRIKING THE OPERATOR ON THE SHOULDER, SLIDING DOWN HIS BACK. HE WAS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AND RELEASED THAT EVENING WITH SORENESS IN HIS BACK.