Mining Incidents

No 3: 66 MSHA citations Coal

Laurel Creek Company Inc · Underground
Dingess, Mingo County, WV  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 4608728

No 3 has $9K 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
8
Years on record
1998–2002
Latest incident
Feb 2002
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
66
citations
19
significant & substantial
$9,144
proposed penalties
$9,144
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
27
inspections on record
656
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: 656 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 3 has $9K 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.
$9K
proposed penalties
$9K
current assessed
$9K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
63 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2001-11-19.
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.
29.7%
significant & substantial
1.6%
high negligence or reckless
28.6%
reasonably likely or greater
7.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 9.5% low, 88.9% moderate, 1.6% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at No 3 shows 89% of 133 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: 2002-01-02, 24 years ago
89%
within 1.5 mg/m3
133
samples
6.27
dust max (mg/m3)
71 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 62 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR64
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)16
  • TRACTOR OPERATOR/MOTORMAN14

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2001-11-21, 24 years ago
7.7
silica avg (%)
18
samples
14.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR8

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: 2000-01-12, 26 years ago
20%
over PEL
5
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR1
  • ROOF BOLTER (MOUNTED) (RETURN SIDE)1
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR1
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
2002 100% 1
2001 84% 61
2000 93% 71
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2001 7.8 10
2000 7.7 8
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

No 3 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2001.

Injury rate, 2001
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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 6.94 and the all-US-mining average was 5.26 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 8.13 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
2001 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2000 * 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.
Ownership history
  1. Kedco Inc 1998 to 1999
  2. Laurel Creek Company Inc 1999 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)
2002 8 28,906
2001 34 276,330
2000 36 303,223
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

No 3 sits in Mingo County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 15.0% 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.
Mingo County, West Virginia · Population 22,979
15.0%
Mining share of county employment
$39,527
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 0 0 0
2002 Q3 0 0 0
2002 Q2 0 0 0
2002 Q1 11,640 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 18,618 8 3 429.7
2001 Q3 18,245 5 0 274.0
2001 Q2 19,819 7 1 353.2
2001 Q1 20,271 6 3 296.0
Show 4 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2000 Q4 17,357 6 2 345.7
2000 Q3 16,806 15 3 892.5
2000 Q2 19,354 16 6 826.7
2000 Q1 20,140 3 1 149.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

8 on file

2002 · 1 incident

February 4, 2002 WV · Coal scoop car/scooptram operator, load/haul/dump (lhd) operator, teletram operator MACHINERY
Laurel Creek Company Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EE GOT GLOVE CAUGHT BETWEEN POT AND STEEL; HE TURNED POT ON AND PULLED LITTLE FINGER OUT OF JOINT.

2000 · 2 incidents

1999 · 3 incidents

July 8, 1999 WV · Coal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider POWERED HAULAGE
Laurel Creek Company Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EMPLOYEE WAS TOSSING ROCK ON THE #2 BELT. THE BELT CAUGHT THE ROCK AND PINNED EMPLOYEE'S HAND BETWEEN BELT AND THE ROCK.

February 19, 1999 WV · Coal FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Kedco Inc · Accident type, without injuries

AN UNINTENTIONAL ROOF FALL OCCURRED IN THE 1ST LEFT PANEL ON NO 2 MAINS. THE FALL MEASURED 6' TO 7' HIGH X 11' TO 14' WIDE X 30' LONG.

1998 · 2 incidents

November 13, 1998 WV · Coal mine manager, mine foreman, mine owner HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Kedco Inc · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

HE WAS PULLING A BELT SPINDLE WITH A PAIR OF CHANNEL LOCKS AND A HAMMER AND HE ACCIDENTLY HIT HIMSELF IN THE KNEE WITH A HAMMER

September 28, 1998 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) STEPPING OR KNEELING ON OBJECT
Kedco Inc · Struck against stationary object

HE WAS CRAWLING BESIDE OF BOLTER & HURT HIS KNEE