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Merritt Branch: 7 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Leonard Hendrickson
Prestonsburg, Floyd County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519930

Merritt Branch has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 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 2022
7
citations
2
significant & substantial
$1,025
proposed penalties
$1,025
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Hendrickson Equipment, Inc.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2022
3
inspections on record
187
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: 187 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Merritt Branch has $1K 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.
$1K
proposed penalties
$1K
current assessed
$1K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
7 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2023-06-15.
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.
28.6%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
28.6%
reasonably likely or greater
28.6%
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.

MSHA sampling at Merritt Branch shows 100% of 9 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: 2023-08-07, 3 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
9
samples
0.30
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.
6 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 3 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR1

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: 2023-07-26, 3 years ago
0%
over PEL
6
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE1
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Hendrickson Equipment, Inc. 2022 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)
2023 5 12,647
2022 5 1,188
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Merritt Branch sits in Floyd County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.4% 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.
Floyd County, Kentucky · Population 35,342
4.4%
Mining share of county employment
$41,582
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
2023 Q4 525 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 2,115 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 2,220 1 0 450.5
2023 Q1 2,932 3 0 1023.2
2022 Q4 1,414 1 0 707.2

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.