Mining Incidents

MOUNTAIN EDGE HIGHWALL #1: 8 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Douglas M Epling
Wharton, Boone County, WV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4608929

MOUNTAIN EDGE HIGHWALL #1 has $2K 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
1
Years on record
2002
Latest incident
Jul 2002
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
8
citations
8
significant & substantial
$2,363
proposed penalties
$2,363
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2002
7
inspections on record
168
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: 168 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

MOUNTAIN EDGE HIGHWALL #1 has $2K 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.
$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
8 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2002-08-21.
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.
100.0%
significant & substantial
25.0%
high negligence or reckless
100.0%
reasonably likely or greater
25.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 75.0% moderate, 0.0% high, 25.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at MOUNTAIN EDGE HIGHWALL #1 shows 100% of 7 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: 2002-08-21, 24 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
7
samples
0.44
dust max (mg/m3)
7 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • AUGER OPERATOR2
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
  • CRANE OPER/DRAGLINE OPERATOR1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

MOUNTAIN EDGE HIGHWALL #1 recorded 9.40 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2002.

Injury rate, 2002
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.
9.40
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 6.89 and the all-US-mining average was 5.05 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 9.17 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.
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. Contour Mining Corporation 2001 to 2001
  2. MOUNTAIN EDGE MINING, INC. 2001 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2002 14
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

MOUNTAIN EDGE HIGHWALL #1 sits in Boone County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 10.1% 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.
Boone County, West Virginia · Population 21,312
10.1%
Mining share of county employment
$56,152
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
2002 Q4 427 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 7,522 3 3 398.8
2002 Q2 6,245 2 2 320.3
2002 Q1 7,078 3 3 423.8
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2002 · 1 incident

July 3, 2002 WV · Coal electrician, lineman POWERED HAULAGE
MOUNTAIN EDGE MINING, INC. · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EMPLOYEE WAS REMOVING SPROCKET FROM THE TAILSHAFT ON THE MINER. IT WAS BEING PULLED BY A CHAIN WITH AN ENDLOADER. EMPLOYEE APPROACHED THE SPROCKET AND THE CHAIN BROKE, STRIKING EMPLOYEE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF HIS FACE.