Mining Incidents

Frasure Creek 12: 57 MSHA citations Coal

Hazard, Perry County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519298

Frasure Creek 12 has $15K in proposed MSHA penalties and $508 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2009
Latest incident
Mar 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
57
citations
16
significant & substantial
$15,224
proposed penalties
$12,462
paid to date
82% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,762 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
8
inspections on record
286
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: 286 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Frasure Creek 12 has $15K in proposed MSHA penalties and $508 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.
$15K
proposed penalties
$13K
current assessed
$12K
paid to date
$508
outstanding
57 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $4K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-06-21.
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.
28.1%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
28.1%
reasonably likely or greater
8.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 100.0% moderate, 0.0% 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 · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 3 · 100%
33%
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 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
53%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$4K 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 2010-08-30.
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
KENT 2010-1503 Settlement Miller 2011 $4K → $2K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Frasure Creek 12 shows 100% of 5 respirable coal dust samples met the 1.5 mg/m3 standard.

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.

Respirable coal dust
Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.

Last sampled: 2009-03-09, 17 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
5
samples
0.53
dust max (mg/m3)
5 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • GROUNDMAN1

Noise
The share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.

Last sampled: 2009-03-25, 17 years ago
17%
over PEL
6
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • GROUNDMAN2
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Frasure Creek 12 recorded 5.93 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2009.

Injury rate, 2009
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.
5.93
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 4.16 and the all-US-mining average was 3.36 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 5.04 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.
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. Frasure Creek Mining LLC 2008 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Coal production is reported quarterly and lags the current period; the most recent quarters may be incomplete.
Year Employees Coal produced (tons)
2011 0
2010 4
2009 12 167,672
2008 12 10,927
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Frasure Creek 12 sits in Perry County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.3% 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.
Perry County, Kentucky · Population 27,847
3.3%
Mining share of county employment
$45,261
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
2011 Q1 0 0 0
2010 Q4 0 0 0
2010 Q3 0 0 0
2010 Q2 7,962 9 1 1130.4
2010 Q1 3,816 8 1 2096.4
2009 Q4 4,107 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 560 3 0 5357.1
2009 Q2 5,964 0 0 0.0
Show 2 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2009 Q1 23,093 23 10 996.0
2008 Q4 3,537 1 1 282.7
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2009 · 1 incident

March 5, 2009 KY · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Frasure Creek Mining LLC · Over-exertion in pulling or pushing objects

Was making brace for generator. While wrapping and untangling cable around brace, EE felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.