Mining Incidents

Caroline Plant: 48 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Charles S Luck IV
Ruther Glen, Caroline County, VA  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 4404502

Caroline Plant has $9K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 4 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
6
Years on record
1999–2012
Latest incident
Feb 2012
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
48
citations
10
significant & substantial
$8,579
proposed penalties
$7,489
paid to date
87% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,090 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
54
inspections on record
1,269
inspection hours
3.8
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.
48 citations across 1,269 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Caroline Plant has $9K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 4 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.
$9K
proposed penalties
$7K
current assessed
$7K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
48 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $3K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-04-16.
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.
20.8%
significant & substantial
10.4%
high negligence or reckless
20.8%
reasonably likely or greater
68.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 14.6% low, 75.0% moderate, 10.4% 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.
5 citations taken to the federal commission · 10% of citations on record
  • Settled 4 · 80%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 20%
50%
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 4 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
54%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$3K proposed, $1K 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 2013-01-07.
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
VA 2013-165M Settlement Bulluck 2013 $1K → $1K
VA 2008-222M Settlement Lesnick 2009 $1K → $100
VA 2010-264M Settlement Koutras 2011 $425 → $127
VA 2012-174M Settlement Lesnick 2012 $100 → $100
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: 2026-06-23
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
34
samples
3
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg29
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz3
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz2
Show the individual readings (34)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2026-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator
2026-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2026-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Dry Screen Plant Operator
2026-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2024-01-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2024-01-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator
2024-01-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2024-01-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2024-01-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2021-06-03 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2021-06-03 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2021-06-03 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator
2021-06-03 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Washer Operator
2015-11-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2015-11-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Shovel Operator
2015-11-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2015-11-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2015-11-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Shovel Operator
2012-04-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Complete Load-Haul-Dump
2012-04-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Washer Operator
2012-04-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Mechanic
2010-05-05 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Complete Load-Haul-Dump
2010-05-05 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Complete Load-Haul-Dump
2010-05-05 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.14 1.61 0.09 Shovel Operator
2010-05-05 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2010-05-05 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Mechanic
2004-06-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Shovel Operator
2004-06-30 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.12 0.63 0.19 Backhoe Operator
2004-06-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2004-06-30 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.12 1 0.12 Truck Driver
2004-06-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Shovel Operator
2001-10-31 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.19 Front-end Loader Operator
2001-10-31 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.17 Truck Driver
2001-10-31 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Loader
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.

Caroline Plant recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2023.

Injury rate, 2023
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 1.78 and the all-US-mining average was 2.10 cases per 100 workers.
In Virginia, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.34 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
2023 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2021 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2020 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2019 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2018 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2017 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2016 * 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. Smith Sand & Gravel Inc 1950 to 1998
  2. Luck Stone Corporation 1998 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 7
2025 6
2024 7
2023 12
2022 13
2021 12
2020 12
2019 15
2018 16
2017 14
2016 12
2015 12
2014 13
2013 12
2012 11
2011 9
2010 9
2009 9
2008 13
2007 18
2006 18
2005 19
2004 17
2003 14
2002 13
2001 13
2000 10
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Caroline Plant sits in Caroline County, Virginia, where the Census mining category is 0.6% 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.
Caroline County, Virginia · Population 31,541
0.6%
Mining share of county employment
$86,267
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
2026 Q2 3,164 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 3,122 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 2,789 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 3,132 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 3,238 1 0 308.8
2025 Q1 3,674 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 3,480 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 3,587 0 0 0.0
Show 98 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 3,407 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 3,373 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 4,693 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 5,465 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 6,869 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 6,946 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 6,197 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 7,399 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 7,674 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 7,129 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 6,689 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 7,221 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 7,027 1 0 142.3
2021 Q1 6,187 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 6,280 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 6,789 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 6,701 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 6,417 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 5,894 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 6,061 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 7,726 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 6,799 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 7,680 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 7,281 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 7,192 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 7,846 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 7,799 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 8,342 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 7,783 1 0 128.5
2017 Q1 6,690 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 6,578 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 7,511 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 7,496 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 5,741 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 5,958 1 0 167.8
2015 Q3 6,987 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 7,127 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 5,626 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 6,174 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 7,225 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 6,732 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 6,027 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 6,537 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 7,260 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 6,684 1 0 149.6
2013 Q1 5,990 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 5,448 3 2 550.7
2012 Q3 6,273 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 6,055 3 1 495.5
2012 Q1 5,464 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 4,651 2 0 430.0
2011 Q3 4,385 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 5,414 1 0 184.7
2011 Q1 5,733 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 5,361 2 2 373.1
2010 Q3 5,105 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 4,706 1 0 212.5
2010 Q1 3,606 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 3,194 2 0 626.2
2009 Q3 3,972 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 3,895 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 4,512 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 4,441 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 6,306 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 5,763 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 7,071 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 6,649 3 1 451.2
2007 Q3 8,559 3 0 350.5
2007 Q2 9,223 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 10,218 3 0 293.6
2006 Q4 9,053 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 11,378 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 9,313 1 0 107.4
2006 Q1 10,056 4 1 397.8
2005 Q4 9,582 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 11,722 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 10,529 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 10,444 1 1 95.7
2004 Q4 9,465 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 9,998 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 9,346 3 1 321.0
2004 Q1 9,285 3 0 323.1
2003 Q4 7,749 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 7,207 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 8,581 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 6,454 1 0 154.9
2002 Q4 8,627 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 7,266 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 8,048 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 5,710 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 6,529 1 0 153.2
2001 Q3 8,346 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 6,949 1 0 143.9
2001 Q1 6,306 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 6,324 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 5,117 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 5,751 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 5,119 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

6 on file

2012 · 1 incident

February 20, 2012 VA · Metal/Non-Metal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Luck Stone Corporation · Over-exertion in wielding or throwing objects

An associate was attempting to close a valve at the back of a log washer with a 2 lb. hammer. When the associate swung the hammer to set the wedge he felt pain in his back.

2005 · 2 incidents

March 9, 2005 VA · Metal/Non-Metal outside foreman, leadman MACHINERY
Luck Stone Corporation · Struck by falling object

EE was assisting with excavation of new area for test drilling. Coworker was operating excavator and hit a 35' pine tree, breaking it near ground. Tree fell, striking EE on hard hat & knocking him unconscience. Coworkers called for assistance; EE regained conscienceness & was airlifted to hospital for further observation. EE was released from hospital at noon on 3/10/05.

January 19, 2005 VA · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Luck Stone Corporation · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Associate was removing a bolt on tool box from the bed of an out of service vehicle. There was a great deal of pressure on the bolt and when the wrench slipped off, associate lost his balance and fell to the ground breaking his left wrist

2004 · 1 incident

June 3, 2004 VA · Metal/Non-Metal miner, prospector, nec HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Luck Stone Corporation · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was cleaning up work area, he was putting scrap metal on a pallet. He turned a steel plate over and hit a small piece of steel angle that flew up and hit him in the cheek.

2003 · 1 incident

June 13, 2003 VA · Metal/Non-Metal

ASSOC CLEANING TRACKS OF EXCAVATOR TWISTED TORSO FELT PAIN IN LOWER BACK.

1999 · 1 incident

September 28, 1999 VA · Metal/Non-Metal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver POWERED HAULAGE
Luck Stone Corporation · Struck against a moving object

EE VEHICLE WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE HAND AND ARM HIT STERING WHEEL AND WINDSHIELD.