Mining Incidents

Fountain Stone Company LLC: 23 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Fountain Stone Company LLC · Surface
Controlled by Lynn Fountain
Fairmount, Pickens County, GA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0900587

Fountain Stone Company LLC has $16K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
23
citations
6
significant & substantial
$16,084
proposed penalties
$4,334
paid to date
27% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $11,750 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
40
inspections on record
389
inspection hours
n/a
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: 389 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Fountain Stone Company LLC has $16K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$16K
proposed penalties
$4K
current assessed
$4K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
22 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $14K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2017-01-03.
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.
27.3%
significant & substantial
36.4%
high negligence or reckless
27.3%
reasonably likely or greater
40.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.5% low, 59.1% moderate, 36.4% 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.
3 citations taken to the federal commission · 13% of citations on record
  • Settled 3 · 100%
100%
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%
87%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$14K 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 2008-02-19.
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 2008-113M Settlement Barbour 2009 $12K → $2K
SE 2008-318M Settlement Barbour 2011 $2K → $250
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: 2018-08-07, 8 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
8
samples
4
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz4
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg3
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (8)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2018-08-07 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Supervisor, Co. Official
2018-08-07 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.2 0.35 0.57 Stone Polisher/Cutter
2018-08-07 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Stone Polisher/Cutter
2017-06-13 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.31 0.53 0.58 Stone Polisher/Cutter
2015-05-14 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.19 0.72 0.26 Jackhammer Operator
2010-05-13 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.12 Stone Polisher/Cutter
2010-05-13 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.57 1.22 0.47 Stone Polisher/Cutter
2002-04-03 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Jackhammer Operator
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.
Ownership history
  1. Buchanan Flagstone Quarry 1950 to 1979
  2. Wayne Anderson Contracting 1979 to 1986
  3. Wilkins Stone Quarries 1986 to 1994
  4. Poole Building Stone 1994 to 1998
  5. Fountain Stone Company LLC 1998 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2018 3
2017 3
2016 4
2015 5
2014 5
2013 3
2012 3
2011 3
2010 4
2009 3
2008 3
2007 5
2006 5
2005 3
2004 4
2003 4
2002 2
2001 3
2000 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Fountain Stone Company LLC sits in Pickens County, Georgia, where the Census mining category is 0.3% 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.
Pickens County, Georgia · Population 34,197
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$75,293
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
2018 Q3 913 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 1,579 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 1,384 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 1,360 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,561 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 1,442 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 1,494 1 0 669.3
2016 Q4 1,550 0 0 0.0
Show 67 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2016 Q3 1,626 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 2,160 2 0 925.9
2016 Q1 1,629 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 1,911 2 1 1046.6
2015 Q3 2,274 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 1,742 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 1,300 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 1,920 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 2,077 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 2,336 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 1,394 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 1,386 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,397 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 1,355 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 1,000 1 0 1000.0
2012 Q4 962 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 1,446 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 1,222 1 0 818.3
2012 Q1 723 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 794 1 0 1259.4
2011 Q3 1,610 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 1,776 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 887 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 270 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 1,905 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 2,069 1 0 483.3
2010 Q1 681 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 650 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 824 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 1,224 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 537 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 802 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 1,103 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 852 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 1,043 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 936 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 1,800 2 0 1111.1
2007 Q2 2,236 7 2 3130.6
2007 Q1 1,800 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 1,200 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 960 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 2,400 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 1,440 1 1 694.4
2005 Q4 1,080 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 1,200 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 1,200 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 1,200 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 360 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 1,840 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 1,930 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 1,800 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 480 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 2,480 1 0 403.2
2003 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 80 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 16 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 40 3 2 75000.0
2002 Q1 0 0 0
2001 Q4 160 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 200 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 80 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 0 0 0
2000 Q4 0 0 0
2000 Q3 160 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 0 0 0
2000 Q1 160 0 0 0.0

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.