Mining Incidents
Search Operators Mines Alerts Research Controllers Fatalgrams About
Countries
Peru Chile
English Español
← Back to search

Guthrie Creek Mine: 1 recorded fatality Coal

Controlled by Charles E Justice
Northport, Walker County, AL  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0103162

Guthrie Creek Mine has $91K in proposed MSHA penalties and $90K outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Guthrie Creek Mine.

Fatalities
1
Total incidents
4
Years on record
2003–2004
Latest incident
Mar 2004
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
54
citations
23
significant & substantial
$91,385
proposed penalties
$964
paid to date
1% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $90,421 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Uptown Motors Incorporated's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
41
inspections on record
619
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: 619 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Guthrie Creek Mine has $91K in proposed MSHA penalties and $90K 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.
$91K
proposed penalties
$91K
current assessed
$964
paid to date
$90K
outstanding
52 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $60 in penalties contested before the Commission, $60 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2004-08-23.
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.
44.2%
significant & substantial
9.6%
high negligence or reckless
44.2%
reasonably likely or greater
26.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 1.9% low, 88.5% moderate, 9.6% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 2% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 100%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$60 proposed, $60 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 2005-03-10.
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 2005-186 Settlement Hodgdon 2005 $60 → $60
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Guthrie Creek Mine shows 97% of 86 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: 2004-09-28, 21 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
86
samples
2.08
dust max (mg/m3)
47 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 39 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR42
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER18
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE12

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2004-08-06, 22 years ago
11.1
silica avg (%)
6
samples
14.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR6
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2004-08-04, 22 years ago
5%
over PEL
20
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR4
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Health sampling trend
ⓘ 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 by year
ⓘ 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.
Year within 1.5 mg/m3 samples
2004 100% 22
2003 100% 16
2002 89% 28
2001 100% 15
2000 100% 5
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2004 11.2 1
2003 9.7 2
2002 14.2 1
2001 10.6 1
2000 11.3 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2004 0% 5
2002 10% 10
2001 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Guthrie Creek Mine recorded 10.71 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2004.

Injury rate, 2004
ⓘ 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.
10.71
total case rate
7.14
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 5.57 and the all-US-mining average was 4.33 cases per 100 workers.
In Alabama, coal mining averaged 6.62 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
2004 * 10.71 7.14 0.000
2003 * 3.08 3.08 3.075
2002 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2001 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2000 * 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. Uptown Motors Inc 1999 to 1999
  2. Republic Mining Inc 1999 to 2000
  3. Uptown Motors Incorporated 2000 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)
2004 33 102,822
2003 33 108,919
2002 31 276,990
2001 25 254,141
2000 21 123,911
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Guthrie Creek Mine sits in Walker County, Alabama, 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.
Walker County, Alabama · Population 64,886
3.3%
Mining share of county employment
$54,509
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
2004 Q4 2,111 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 14,607 21 9 1437.7
2004 Q2 21,054 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 18,264 5 4 273.8
2003 Q4 5,892 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 12,652 8 5 632.3
2003 Q2 25,832 6 2 232.3
2003 Q1 20,656 0 0 0.0
Show 12 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2002 Q4 19,332 2 1 103.5
2002 Q3 19,519 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 21,436 1 0 46.7
2002 Q1 20,673 3 1 145.1
2001 Q4 14,502 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 14,950 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 26,550 4 0 150.7
2001 Q1 12,240 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 9,216 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 9,326 4 1 428.9
2000 Q2 0 0 0
2000 Q1 2,594 0 0 0.0

Fatalities at this mine

1 recorded

Reportable incidents

3 on file (excluding fatalities above)

2004 · 3 incidents

March 30, 2004 AL · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Uptown Motors Incorporated · Contact with hot objects or substances

Putting hydraulic oil in rock truck when hot mud fell from underside of bed and burned, ear, neck and face on left side.

March 16, 2004 AL · Coal drill operator MACHINERY
Uptown Motors Incorporated · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Cleaning out drill bit that had stopped up. The bit had air pressure to it, he got it cleaned out & it blew dirt & gravel into his left arm.