Mining Incidents
Search Operators Mines Alerts Research Controllers Fatalgrams About
Countries
Peru Chile Colombia Brazil Mexico Argentina Ecuador Dominican Republic Guyana Honduras Panama Guatemala Bolivia Nicaragua
Country notes
Venezuela · Suriname · Cuba · Haiti · El Salvador · Costa Rica · Uruguay · Paraguay
English Español
← Back to search

Heritage #1: 75 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Trisha Shulsky
Wilbur, Blair County, PA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3606678

Heritage #1 has had no fatalities among 2 reportable incidents since 1992. MSHA has proposed $16K in penalties since 2002.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Heritage #1.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
1992–2012
Latest incident
Jun 2012
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
75
citations
18
significant & substantial
$16,100
proposed penalties
$16,100
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date. The remaining $0 was reduced, settled, contested or is still owed.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Heritage Mining Company's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
48
inspections on record
986
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: 986 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Heritage #1 has $16K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 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
$16K
current assessed
$16K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
75 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2016-11-21.
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.
24.0%
significant & substantial
17.3%
high negligence or reckless
24.0%
reasonably likely or greater
46.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 33.3% low, 49.3% moderate, 16.0% high, 1.3% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Heritage #1 shows 100% of 74 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: 2016-04-27, 10 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
74
samples
0.64
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.
72 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 2 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR28
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER16
  • CRANE OPER/DRAGLINE OPERATOR12

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2016-05-04, 10 years ago
18.4
silica avg (%)
6
samples
28.7
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER 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: 2015-10-21, 11 years ago
7%
over PEL
45
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR15
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER9
  • CRANE OPER/DRAGLINE OPERATOR8
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
2016 100% 2
2015 100% 12
2014 100% 8
2013 100% 8
2012 100% 7
2011 100% 9
2008 100% 2
2002 100% 14
2001 100% 2
2000 100% 10
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2016 13.2 1
2015 24.6 2
2012 15.9 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2015 14% 7
2014 0% 4
2013 0% 5
2012 0% 3
2011 0% 5
2008 0% 2
2002 9% 11
2001 0% 2
2000 17% 6
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Heritage #1 recorded 9.09 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2012.

Injury rate, 2012
ⓘ 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 and are withheld below 20,000 hours in a year. Employment reports reach back to 1983, but those earlier years come from MSHA's archived file format and are not used in rates.
9.09
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.74 and the all-US-mining average was 2.96 cases per 100 workers.
In Pennsylvania, coal mining averaged 4.43 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
2012 * 9.09 0.00 0.000
2011 * 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. Lochrie Coal Company 1978 to 1994
  2. Heritage Mining Company 1994 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)
2016 5
2015 8 17,050
2014 7 18,555
2013 8 31,677
2012 13 31,137
2011 12 29,577
2010 15 718
2009 7
2008 11
2007 16
2003 2
2002 3 58,941
2001 2 34,823
2000 3 28,643
1999 5 20,394
1998 3 15,754
1997 4 21,386
1996 3 34,761
1995 2 15,022
1994 6 66,150
1993 6 15,245
1992 6 27,413
1991 7 40,804
1990 8 54,678
1989 5 28,149
1988 6 49,726
1987 6 45,436
1986 6 41,489
1985 4 21,399
1984 6 14,822
1983 6 19,484
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly; years before 2000 come from MSHA's archived Part 50 employment files.

Heritage #1 sits in Blair County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 0.1% 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.
Blair County, Pennsylvania · Population 121,854
0.1%
Mining share of county employment
$60,594
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; earlier incidents are counted but not rate-adjusted, though reported hours reach back to 1983. 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
2016 Q4 1,012 9 2 8893.3
2016 Q3 2,579 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,562 3 0 1920.6
2016 Q1 285 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 2,959 11 0 3717.5
2015 Q3 3,106 3 0 965.9
2015 Q2 2,379 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 2,501 4 1 1599.4
Show 37 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2014 Q4 2,334 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 2,881 6 2 2082.6
2014 Q2 3,253 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 3,022 6 2 1985.4
2013 Q4 3,384 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 4,023 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 3,851 6 4 1558.0
2013 Q1 4,215 2 1 474.5
2012 Q4 4,410 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 5,014 6 1 1196.6
2012 Q2 6,756 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 5,816 1 0 171.9
2011 Q4 6,659 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 5,339 6 2 1123.8
2011 Q2 6,538 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 11,600 4 0 344.8
2010 Q4 4,655 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 2,430 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 2,026 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 2,863 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 4,095 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 3,901 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 4,676 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 6,558 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 53 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 1,051 1 0 951.5
2002 Q3 1,155 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 1,165 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 1,488 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 1,628 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 1,163 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 1,009 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 916 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 1,056 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 1,254 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 1,663 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 1,442 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2012 · 1 incident

June 25, 2012 PA · Coal electrician, lineman DISORDERS (REPEATED TRAUMA)
Heritage Mining Company · (Not Elsewhere Classified)

This is not an injury or accident. The results of the audiogram showed a hearing loss for this employee.

Show 1 earlier incidents

1992 · 1 incident