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Cherokee Co Quarry: 58 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Harrison Aggregates · Surface
Controlled by CRH PLC
Murphy, Cherokee County, NC  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 3102138

Cherokee Co Quarry has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $394 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
6
Years on record
2000–2021
Latest incident
May 2021
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
58
citations
12
significant & substantial
$12,431
proposed penalties
$11,504
paid to date
93% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $927 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Harrison Aggregates's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
56
inspections on record
1,113
inspection hours
5.2
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.
58 citations across 1,113 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Cherokee Co Quarry has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $394 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.
$12K
proposed penalties
$12K
current assessed
$12K
paid to date
$394
outstanding
58 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $2K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-08-20.
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.
20.7%
significant & substantial
6.9%
high negligence or reckless
20.7%
reasonably likely or greater
39.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 8.6% low, 84.5% moderate, 6.9% 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.
2 citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
  • Settled 2 · 100%
0%
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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
25%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$2K proposed, $2K 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 2011-05-03.
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
SE 2011-494M Settlement Bulluck 2014 $2K → $2K
SE 2008-56M Settlement Lesnick 2008 $138 → $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: 2026-03-12
17%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
40
samples
12
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz132 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg25
  • Fibers, >5um1
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (40)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2023-08-01 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.47 0.38 1.24 Cleanup Man
2023-08-01 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.45 1.24 1.17 Crusher Oper/Worker
2026-03-12 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Cleanup Man
2026-03-12 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2026-03-12 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-03-11 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Cleanup Man
2025-03-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.18 0.47 0.38 Crusher Oper/Worker
2025-03-11 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2023-10-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2023-10-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Mechanic
2023-10-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2023-10-26 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.19 0.28 0.68 Crusher Oper/Worker
2023-10-26 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.12 0.46 0.26 Cleanup Man
2023-08-01 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Dry Screen Plant Operator
2023-08-01 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2023-08-01 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2022-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2022-06-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2021-09-29 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2021-09-29 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2021-09-29 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.24 Crusher Oper/Worker
2020-09-22 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2020-09-22 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.2 0.48 0.42 Mechanic
2020-09-22 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2018-07-24 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.16 0.27 0.59 Crusher Oper/Worker
2018-07-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Laborer, Bullgang
2018-07-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2017-05-17 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2015-10-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.2 0.46 0.43 Crusher Oper/Worker
2015-10-15 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2015-10-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.2 1.08 0.19 Laborer, Bullgang
2010-04-07 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.26 0.84 0.31 Front-end Loader Operator
2006-05-04 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2006-05-04 Fibers, >5um 0.02 Cleanup Man
2006-05-04 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.22 0.99 0.22 Cleanup Man
2006-05-04 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.3 Truck Driver
2003-07-10 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2003-07-10 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2003-07-10 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.15 0.33 0.45 Washer Operator
2003-07-10 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
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.

Cherokee Co Quarry recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.

Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ 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 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In North Carolina, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.14 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
2025 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2024 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2023 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2008 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2007 * 10.82 0.00 0.000
2006 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2005 * 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. Harrison Construction Co Div/APAC-Tennessee Inc 1999 to 2008
  2. Harrison Aggregates 2008 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 15
2025 14
2024 11
2023 12
2022 13
2021 9
2020 7
2019 4
2018 5
2017 7
2016 12
2015 19
2014 11
2013 13
2012 12
2011 16
2010 25
2009 25
2008 32
2007 32
2006 32
2005 32
2004 30
2003 30
2002 30
2001 30
2000 29
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Cherokee Co Quarry sits in Cherokee County, North Carolina, where the Census mining category is 0.2% 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.
Cherokee County, North Carolina · Population 29,197
0.2%
Mining share of county employment
$51,496
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 9,036 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 6,623 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 5,005 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 9,598 1 0 104.2
2025 Q2 8,896 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 6,352 1 1 157.4
2024 Q4 5,334 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 6,724 0 0 0.0
Show 98 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 6,748 1 0 148.2
2024 Q1 7,820 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 6,308 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 8,584 1 1 116.5
2023 Q2 7,259 2 1 275.5
2023 Q1 12,259 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 5,684 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 6,505 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 6,892 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 7,068 6 1 848.9
2021 Q4 5,465 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 5,040 2 0 396.8
2021 Q2 3,615 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 1,403 2 2 1425.5
2020 Q4 1,406 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 1,542 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 5,015 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 3,417 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 1,841 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 1,013 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 2,386 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 1,405 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 3,423 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 2,804 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 1,271 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 2,796 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 3,027 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 4,217 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 3,470 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 1,998 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 3,647 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 4,187 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 3,929 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 3,244 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 2,388 2 0 837.5
2015 Q3 4,152 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 4,491 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 4,285 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 2,311 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 1,827 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 4,083 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 907 1 0 1102.5
2013 Q4 1,284 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 4,305 2 1 464.6
2013 Q2 2,537 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 2,414 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 3,568 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 2,851 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 2,379 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 909 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1,275 1 0 784.3
2011 Q3 3,582 1 0 279.2
2011 Q2 3,615 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 2,465 1 0 405.7
2010 Q4 1,415 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 6,121 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 2,774 5 2 1802.5
2010 Q1 1,436 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 2,737 4 0 1461.5
2009 Q3 5,157 2 1 387.8
2009 Q2 5,340 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 4,395 2 0 455.1
2008 Q4 4,413 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 3,944 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 10,891 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 7,951 3 0 377.3
2007 Q4 5,748 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 9,893 2 0 202.2
2007 Q2 11,326 1 1 88.3
2007 Q1 10,014 4 0 399.4
2006 Q4 10,973 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 11,510 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 11,874 2 0 168.4
2006 Q1 9,912 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 10,104 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 8,985 1 0 111.3
2005 Q2 7,301 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 6,379 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 8,447 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 7,308 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 6,582 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 8,056 2 0 248.3
2003 Q4 7,547 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 7,600 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 9,070 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 8,527 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 6,948 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 10,021 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 6,431 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 6,566 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 5,291 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 6,133 3 1 489.2
2001 Q2 6,094 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 7,431 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 5,527 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 7,596 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 8,814 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 11,399 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

6 on file

2021 · 1 incident

May 3, 2021 NC · Metal/Non-Metal quality control technician, laboratory technician, laboratory assistant HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Harrison Aggregates · Over-exertion in lifting objects

Employee was picking up a 5 gallon bucket full of material. As EE prepared the bucket for a split QC sample, EE felt a pain in EE's back and a sharp pain down EE's right leg.

2010 · 1 incident

June 4, 2010 NC · Metal/Non-Metal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Harrison Aggregates · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE had just parked loader; started down steps of loader when his left foot got hung in the ladder. EE fell backward; regained his balance and landed on his feet with all of his weight on the left side and left ankle buckled.

2007 · 2 incidents

May 23, 2007 NC · Metal/Non-Metal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator POWERED HAULAGE
Harrison Construction Co Div/APAC-Tennessee Inc · Struck against a moving object

Employee was operating front-end loader lifting a jaw dye & moving it from yard area to jaw crusher on the haul road. As he made a 90 degree turn on haul road with a slope, loader turned over onto its right side resulting in bruises to right ribs/lung.

March 30, 2007 NC · Metal/Non-Metal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator POWERED HAULAGE
Harrison Construction Co Div/APAC-Tennessee Inc · Struck against a moving object

EE was backing up loader & abruptly stopped when he noticed water truck behind him. EE's chest hit steering wheel.

2000 · 2 incidents