No. 1 Wallins has $120K in proposed MSHA penalties and $96K outstanding across 20 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
4
Years on record
2005–2009
Latest incident
Oct 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
486
citations
118
significant & substantial
$120,414
proposed penalties
$21,557
paid to date
18% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $98,857 gap.
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.
486 citations across 3,435 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
No. 1 Wallins has $120K in proposed MSHA penalties and $96K outstanding across 20 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.
$120K
proposed penalties
$118K
current assessed
$22K
paid to date
$96K
outstanding
465 assessments are final orders; 20 contested dockets.
Of $13K in penalties contested before the Commission, $11K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-01-20.
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.
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.
53citations taken to the federal commission · 11% of citations on record
Settled
53 · 100%
88%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 48 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
17%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$12K proposed, $10K 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 2007-09-18.
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.
MSHA sampling at No. 1 Wallins shows 96% of 393 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: 2010-01-22, 16 years ago
96%
within 1.5 mg/m3
393
samples
4.77
dust max (mg/m3)
208 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 185 by the operator.
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.
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.
No. 1 Wallins recorded 5.17 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2009.
Injury rate, 2009
ⓘ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.
5.17
total case rate
2.59
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 4.16 and the all-US-mining average was 3.36 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 5.04 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
2009 *
5.17
2.59
0.000
2008 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2007 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2006 *
3.82
3.82
0.000
2005 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2004 *
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.
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)
2010
8
20,744
2009
36
147,002
2008
18
68,536
2007
11
32,875
2006
18
90,692
2005
19
100,767
2004
16
82,382
2003
6
27,648
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
No. 1 Wallins 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
2010 Q4
0
0
0
2010 Q3
0
0
0
2010 Q2
0
0
0
2010 Q1
11,087
20
3
1803.9
2009 Q4
18,516
29
6
1566.2
2009 Q3
18,174
39
10
2145.9
2009 Q2
20,160
19
5
942.5
2009 Q1
20,511
67
19
3266.5
Show 23 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2008 Q4
19,668
37
3
1881.2
2008 Q3
12,745
26
10
2040.0
2008 Q2
3,250
18
5
5538.5
2008 Q1
25
0
0
0.0
2007 Q4
0
0
0
2007 Q3
1,598
0
0
0.0
2007 Q2
12,413
7
2
563.9
2007 Q1
12,729
25
3
1964.0
2006 Q4
13,763
19
4
1380.5
2006 Q3
13,776
16
6
1161.4
2006 Q2
11,962
5
1
418.0
2006 Q1
12,922
8
2
619.1
2005 Q4
13,325
3
0
225.1
2005 Q3
13,398
5
1
373.2
2005 Q2
14,296
24
9
1678.8
2005 Q1
14,058
20
9
1422.7
2004 Q4
12,813
11
3
858.5
2004 Q3
11,882
12
1
1009.9
2004 Q2
11,442
15
0
1311.0
2004 Q1
9,449
9
4
952.5
2003 Q4
7,279
14
3
1923.3
2003 Q3
5,557
21
2
3779.0
2003 Q2
0
0
0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
4 on file
2009 · 2 incidents
October 24, 2009KY · Coalshuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operatorEXPLODING VESSELS UNDER PRESSURE
A RD-800 MACK TRUCK LOADED AT THE W-1 MINE PIT & WAS GOING OFF THE HAUL ROAD WHEN DRIVESHAFT CAME OUT & THE DRIVER TRIED TO RIDE IT OUT. THE DRIVER JUMPED FROM THE TRUCK WHICH LEAD TO HIM HAVING A SERIOUS HEAD INJURY.