Mining Incidents

Hartridge: 90 MSHA citations Coal

Civil, LLC · Surface
Controlled by John T Quintrell
Coalgood, Harlan County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519013

Hartridge has $53K in proposed MSHA penalties and $573 outstanding across 6 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
4
Years on record
2007–2008
Latest incident
Oct 2008
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2007
90
citations
33
significant & substantial
$53,417
proposed penalties
$41,561
paid to date
78% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $11,856 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2006
23
inspections on record
528
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: 528 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Hartridge has $53K in proposed MSHA penalties and $573 outstanding across 6 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.
$53K
proposed penalties
$42K
current assessed
$42K
paid to date
$573
outstanding
88 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $40K in penalties contested before the Commission, $28K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-12-16.
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.
37.5%
significant & substantial
2.3%
high negligence or reckless
37.5%
reasonably likely or greater
14.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.5% low, 93.2% moderate, 2.3% 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.
25 citations taken to the federal commission · 28% of citations on record
  • Settled 25 · 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 12 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
28%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$40K proposed, $28K 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 2020-04-13.
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 2009-14 Settlement 2011 $19K → $13K
KENT 2009-472 Settlement Lesnick 2011 $12K → $8K
KENT 2009-771 Settlement Feldman 2010 $7K → $6K
KENT 2008-281 Settlement Melick 2008 $850 → $525
KENT 2009-1276 Settlement Weisberger 2010 $392 → $280
WEVA 2020-0321 Settlement Bulluck 2020 $254 → $190
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Hartridge shows 100% of 33 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: 2019-12-18, 6 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
33
samples
0.61
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.
33 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER6
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE6
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR4

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: 2019-12-18, 6 years ago
0%
over PEL
24
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE4
  • AUGER OPERATOR3
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
2019 100% 5
2009 100% 6
2008 100% 5
2007 100% 17
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2019 0% 5
2009 0% 5
2008 0% 4
2007 0% 10
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Hartridge recorded 2.75 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2008.

Injury rate, 2008
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.
2.75
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 4.41 and the all-US-mining average was 3.61 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.87 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
2008 * 2.75 0.00 0.000
2007 * 4.40 4.40 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. Appolo Fuels Inc 2006 to 2019
  2. Civil, LLC 2019 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)
2009 15 9,863
2008 26 211,408
2007 32 342,602
2006 35 141,761
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Hartridge sits in Harlan County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.3% 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.
Harlan County, Kentucky · Population 26,185
4.3%
Mining share of county employment
$37,198
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
2009 Q2 6,717 2 0 297.8
2009 Q1 13,899 7 2 503.6
2008 Q4 13,832 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 14,379 9 3 625.9
2008 Q2 23,135 14 4 605.1
2008 Q1 21,431 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 19,959 4 2 200.4
2007 Q3 21,062 35 14 1661.8
Show 5 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2007 Q2 23,820 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 25,982 6 3 230.9
2006 Q4 27,823 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 25,065 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 15,085 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

4 on file

2008 · 1 incident

October 13, 2008 KY · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator POWERED HAULAGE
Appolo Fuels Inc · Struck against a moving object

EE as operating atriculator truck to be loaded. Another EE was loading is truck with a 988 loader, when the bucket hit the truck, causing a jolt to EE. His back was jolted, causing his right leg to have numbness.

2007 · 3 incidents

October 31, 2007 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer MACHINERY
Appolo Fuels Inc · Struck against a moving object

Was moving rock and material with dozer and dozer blade slipped off edge of rock causing dozer to jolt.

June 4, 2007 KY · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator OTHER
Appolo Fuels Inc · (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee possibly had a stroke while working. Was sitting in cab of highwall miner when another employee noticed slurred speech.

April 11, 2007 KY · Coal driller, highwall operator, highwall drill operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Appolo Fuels Inc · Fall onto or against objects

Employee was walking on catwalk by rear powerhead - slipped and fell against chain take-up. (Insecure footing.)