Fertile Sand, Shop & Wash Plant has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
4
Years on record
1987–2024
Latest incident
Feb 2024
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
75
citations
11
significant & substantial
$10,213
proposed penalties
$10,186
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $27 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: 547 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Fertile Sand, Shop & Wash Plant has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 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.
$10K
proposed penalties
$10K
current assessed
$10K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
75 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $227 in penalties contested before the Commission, $200 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-09.
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.
2citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
Settled
1 · 50%
Stood as issued
1 · 50%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
12%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$227 proposed, $200 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 2010-08-05.
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: 2026-04-09
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
14
samples
3
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Respirable dust, <.1mg9
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz2
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (14)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2026-04-09
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2025-12-10
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Dry Screen Plant Operator
2024-12-18
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2021-08-31
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Washer Operator
2021-08-31
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2019-03-12
Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz
0.69
10
0.07
Bobcat Operator
2019-03-12
Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.16
10
0.02
Front-end Loader Operator
2015-05-13
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2015-05-13
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.12
Washer Operator
2015-05-13
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2010-06-30
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.51
2.16
0.24
Front-end Loader Operator
2010-06-30
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.3
Front-end Loader Operator
2004-05-18
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Laborer, Bullgang
2004-05-18
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Laborer, Bullgang
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.
Fertile Sand, Shop & Wash Plant 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 Iowa, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.72 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 *
9.35
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
13
2025
9
2024
10
2023
7
2022
7
2021
6
2020
5
2019
5
2018
5
2017
5
2016
5
2015
6
2014
8
2013
6
2012
5
2011
2
2010
3
2009
2
2008
3
2007
3
2006
3
2005
3
2004
3
2003
3
2002
3
2001
3
2000
3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Fertile Sand, Shop & Wash Plant sits in Worth County, Iowa, where the Census mining category is 0.4% 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.
Worth County, Iowa · Population 7,380
0.4%
Mining share of county employment
$76,875
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
5,484
1
0
182.3
2026 Q1
9,481
0
0
0.0
2025 Q4
4,915
0
0
0.0
2025 Q3
3,740
0
0
0.0
2025 Q2
5,047
0
0
0.0
2025 Q1
6,896
0
0
0.0
2024 Q4
6,221
0
0
0.0
2024 Q3
4,852
0
0
0.0
Show 98 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2
4,634
4
1
863.2
2024 Q1
5,689
0
0
0.0
2023 Q4
3,176
0
0
0.0
2023 Q3
4,065
0
0
0.0
2023 Q2
3,579
0
0
0.0
2023 Q1
4,228
0
0
0.0
2022 Q4
3,494
1
0
286.2
2022 Q3
3,836
0
0
0.0
2022 Q2
3,259
0
0
0.0
2022 Q1
5,074
0
0
0.0
2021 Q4
3,435
0
0
0.0
2021 Q3
3,292
1
0
303.8
2021 Q2
3,363
0
0
0.0
2021 Q1
4,697
0
0
0.0
2020 Q4
2,944
0
0
0.0
2020 Q3
2,990
0
0
0.0
2020 Q2
3,157
0
0
0.0
2020 Q1
4,429
2
0
451.6
2019 Q4
2,603
0
0
0.0
2019 Q3
3,422
0
0
0.0
2019 Q2
3,792
1
0
263.7
2019 Q1
5,119
0
0
0.0
2018 Q4
2,442
0
0
0.0
2018 Q3
2,440
2
0
819.7
2018 Q2
2,869
0
0
0.0
2018 Q1
5,486
0
0
0.0
2017 Q4
2,589
0
0
0.0
2017 Q3
2,773
0
0
0.0
2017 Q2
2,745
0
0
0.0
2017 Q1
3,989
2
0
501.4
2016 Q4
2,393
4
0
1671.5
2016 Q3
2,827
5
1
1768.7
2016 Q2
2,830
0
0
0.0
2016 Q1
4,505
3
0
665.9
2015 Q4
2,650
0
0
0.0
2015 Q3
2,862
0
0
0.0
2015 Q2
3,619
4
0
1105.3
2015 Q1
4,491
0
0
0.0
2014 Q4
2,693
1
0
371.3
2014 Q3
3,473
0
0
0.0
2014 Q2
3,406
0
0
0.0
2014 Q1
5,619
2
1
355.9
2013 Q4
2,793
0
0
0.0
2013 Q3
2,363
0
0
0.0
2013 Q2
2,230
0
0
0.0
2013 Q1
5,341
1
1
187.2
2012 Q4
2,036
1
0
491.2
2012 Q3
2,577
2
0
776.1
2012 Q2
2,657
0
0
0.0
2012 Q1
4,589
0
0
0.0
2011 Q4
767
0
0
0.0
2011 Q3
729
0
0
0.0
2011 Q2
976
3
0
3073.8
2011 Q1
459
0
0
0.0
2010 Q4
463
0
0
0.0
2010 Q3
1,765
0
0
0.0
2010 Q2
1,154
9
3
7799.0
2010 Q1
415
0
0
0.0
2009 Q4
581
0
0
0.0
2009 Q3
1,305
2
1
1532.6
2009 Q2
685
0
0
0.0
2009 Q1
429
0
0
0.0
2008 Q4
714
0
0
0.0
2008 Q3
1,089
0
0
0.0
2008 Q2
1,136
3
0
2640.8
2008 Q1
650
0
0
0.0
2007 Q4
952
0
0
0.0
2007 Q3
1,249
1
1
800.6
2007 Q2
737
0
0
0.0
2007 Q1
704
0
0
0.0
2006 Q4
504
0
0
0.0
2006 Q3
572
0
0
0.0
2006 Q2
547
0
0
0.0
2006 Q1
578
0
0
0.0
2005 Q4
459
0
0
0.0
2005 Q3
546
0
0
0.0
2005 Q2
978
2
0
2045.0
2005 Q1
615
0
0
0.0
2004 Q4
634
0
0
0.0
2004 Q3
1,132
0
0
0.0
2004 Q2
853
2
0
2344.7
2004 Q1
587
0
0
0.0
2003 Q4
349
0
0
0.0
2003 Q3
535
0
0
0.0
2003 Q2
519
0
0
0.0
2003 Q1
524
0
0
0.0
2002 Q4
793
0
0
0.0
2002 Q3
1,606
0
0
0.0
2002 Q2
996
0
0
0.0
2002 Q1
603
0
0
0.0
2001 Q4
880
0
0
0.0
2001 Q3
491
3
1
6110.0
2001 Q2
533
0
0
0.0
2001 Q1
480
0
0
0.0
2000 Q4
696
0
0
0.0
2000 Q3
899
2
0
2224.7
2000 Q2
734
0
0
0.0
2000 Q1
443
0
0
0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
4 on file
2024 · 1 incident
February 15, 2024IA · Metal/Non-Metalhaul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driverHANDLING OF MATERIALS
BMC Aggregates LC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
Miner was moving mobile metal welding bench and pinched hand/finger between bench and another piece of equipment.
2021 · 1 incident
January 11, 2021IA · Metal/Non-Metalcrusher attendant/operator, pan feeder operator/workerHANDLING OF MATERIALS
BMC Aggregates LC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
Employee was working on brakes on aggregate primary crusher (impact). While reinstalling brake drum, drum slipped off brake pads pitching finger between brake drum and axle.
1988 · 1 incident
March 16, 1988IA · Metal/Non-Metalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techOTHER
AUTOMATIC PILOT3HAD GONE OUT ON WATER HEATER. WHEN I NAME TRIED TO LIGHT THE HEATER, FLAMES BLEW BACK BURNING HIS FACE AND HANDS. PROBABLY 2ND DEGREE BURNS.