Mining Incidents

NO 10: 14 MSHA citations Coal

Taurus Coal Company Inc. · Underground
Controlled by James H Booth
Vanlear, Johnson County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1518678

NO 10 has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 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 2003
14
citations
4
significant & substantial
$1,112
proposed penalties
$1,035
paid to date
93% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $77 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2003
9
inspections on record
135
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: 135 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

NO 10 has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 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
14 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $512 in penalties contested before the Commission, $435 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2004-01-06.
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
35.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 21.4% low, 78.6% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
KENT 2004-149 Settlement Bulluck 2004 $377 → $300
KENT 2004-182 Dismissal Lesnick 2004 $135 → $135
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at NO 10 shows 92% of 12 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: 2003-12-18, 22 years ago
92%
within 1.5 mg/m3
12
samples
1.88
dust max (mg/m3)
6 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 6 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR6
  • LABORER1
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)1

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2003-12-24, 22 years ago
9.7
silica avg (%)
1
samples
9.7
silica max (%)
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Taurus Coal Company Inc. 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)
2005 0
2004 18 11,544
2003 10 14,007
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

NO 10 sits in Johnson County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 1.9% 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.
Johnson County, Kentucky · Population 22,464
1.9%
Mining share of county employment
$43,014
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
2005 Q3 0 0 0
2004 Q1 13,114 3 1 228.8
2003 Q4 6,451 10 2 1550.1

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.