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Mine #4: 32 MSHA citations Coal

Whitesburg, Letcher County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1518421

Mine #4 has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $884 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2005
Latest incident
Oct 2005
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2004
32
citations
19
significant & substantial
$2,637
proposed penalties
$1,753
paid to date
66% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $884 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Enterprise Mining Company, L. L. C.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
32
inspections on record
713
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: 713 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Mine #4 has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $884 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.
$3K
proposed penalties
$3K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$884
outstanding
32 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2006-01-19.
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.
59.4%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
59.4%
reasonably likely or greater
12.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 9.4% low, 90.6% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Mine #4 shows 98% of 120 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: 2006-01-20, 20 years ago
98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
120
samples
1.88
dust max (mg/m3)
64 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 56 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR60
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)15
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)12

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2006-01-11, 20 years ago
4.1
silica avg (%)
8
samples
7.8
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER 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: 2006-01-05, 20 years ago
6%
over PEL
16
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)5
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR3
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
2006 92% 12
2005 100% 73
2004 97% 35
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2006 3.0 1
2005 4.4 6
2004 3.3 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2006 0% 1
2005 10% 10
2004 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Mine #4 recorded 1.95 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2005.

Injury rate, 2005
ⓘ 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.
1.95
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 5.11 and the all-US-mining average was 4.21 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 5.46 cases per 100 workers that year.
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. Coastal Coal Company, LLC 2001 to 2003
  2. Enterprise Mining Company, L. L. C. 2003 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)
2006 19 90,016
2005 42 402,085
2004 26 169,773
2002 0
2001 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Mine #4 sits in Letcher County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.5% 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.
Letcher County, Kentucky · Population 21,146
3.5%
Mining share of county employment
$40,501
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
2006 Q2 0 0 0
2006 Q1 20,368 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 24,160 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 25,608 2 1 78.1
2005 Q2 26,581 5 1 188.1
2005 Q1 26,166 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 25,194 3 1 119.1
2004 Q3 24,331 1 0 41.1
Show 5 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2004 Q2 3,411 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 0 0 0
2002 Q1 0 0 0
2001 Q4 0 0 0
2001 Q3 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2005 · 2 incidents

April 7, 2005 KY · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
Enterprise Mining Company, L. L. C. · Struck by falling object

Employee was drilling 10' test holes and extension fell out striking his left hand index finger causing a laceration.