Cantera El Pozo has $93K in proposed MSHA penalties and $76K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
6
Years on record
1996–2005
Latest incident
Mar 2005
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
178
citations
66
significant & substantial
$93,461
proposed penalties
$16,973
paid to date
18% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $76,488 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.
178 citations across 1,232 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘA Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2017-04-20.
On record since 2017.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.
Cantera El Pozo has $93K in proposed MSHA penalties and $76K 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.
$93K
proposed penalties
$93K
current assessed
$17K
paid to date
$76K
outstanding
173 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-01-27.
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.
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: 2026-01-28
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
14
samples
10
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz5
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz5
Respirable dust, <.1mg3
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (14)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2026-01-28
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Backhoe Operator
2026-01-28
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Cleanup Man
2025-04-29
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz
0.3
10
0.03
Crusher Oper/Worker
2025-04-29
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz
0.14
10
0.01
Front-end Loader Operator
2021-02-11
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.21
10
0.02
Crusher Oper/Worker
2021-02-11
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.41
10
0.04
Truck Driver
2021-02-11
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.18
10
0.02
Front-end Loader Operator
2021-02-11
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.36
10
0.04
Shovel Operator
2015-05-21
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz
0.72
10
0.07
Backhoe Operator
2015-05-21
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz
1.02
10
0.10
Truck Driver
2015-05-21
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz
0.21
10
0.02
Crusher Oper/Worker
2012-03-06
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.18
10
0.02
Front-end Loader Operator
2002-10-02
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2002-07-29
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.18
Crusher Oper/Worker
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.
Cantera El Pozo recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024.
Injury rate, 2024
ⓘ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 metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.77 and the all-US-mining average was 2.08 cases per 100 workers.
In Puerto Rico, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.98 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
2024 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2023 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2000 *
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
2026
14
2025
14
2024
14
2023
12
2022
12
2021
13
2020
12
2019
12
2018
10
2017
9
2016
8
2015
6
2014
6
2013
7
2012
7
2011
4
2008
0
2007
1
2006
8
2005
15
2004
16
2003
13
2002
15
2001
18
2000
22
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Cantera El Pozo sits in Yauco Municipio, Puerto Rico, where the Census mining category is 0.1% 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.
Yauco Municipio, Puerto Rico · Population 33,509
0.1%
Mining share of county employment
$21,918
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
The ee left the door of a truck open, forgot to wear his hard hat, and bumped his head with a corner of the door, with a resulting injury requiring 3 points of suture resulting in 1 1/2 working days off.
February 2, 2005PR · Metal/Non-Metalbulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineerMACHINERY
A column of fugitive dust blew at the face of the employee with particles causing injury and temporary blindness in his left eye. Employee had to abandon work and seek medical assistance.
2003 · 1 incident
July 30, 2003PR · Metal/Non-Metalbulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineerMACHINERY
EMPLOYEE HAS BEEN SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC LOWER BACK PAIN DUE TO STRESS CAUSED BY VIBRATION OF THE HEAVY EQUIPMENT HE USUALLY OPERATES (BULLDOZER AND BACKHOE EXCAVATOR).
AT THE MOMENT THE DIESEL WAS DISENGAGED FROM THE CRUSHER, THE CRUSHER MOVED MORE THAN THE EE EXPECTED & FELL OFF DROPPING 8' TO GROUND. EE FELL ALSO, FRACTURING SOME RIBS.
1996 · 1 incident
January 19, 1996PR · Metal/Non-Metalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorPOWERED HAULAGE