Mining Incidents

No 5: 10 reportable incidents Coal

Cougar Coal Company Inc · Underground
Controlled by James H Booth
Van Lear, Johnson County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1517296

MSHA sampling at No 5 shows 100% of 2 respirable coal dust samples met the 1.5 mg/m3 standard, plus the mine's fatality, citation, and penalty record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
10
Years on record
1993–1996
Latest incident
Jan 1996

MSHA sampling at No 5 shows 100% of 2 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: 2001-08-22, 25 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
2
samples
0.57
dust max (mg/m3)
2 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Cougar Coal Company Inc 1992 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.

No 5 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.
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

10 on file

1996 · 1 incident

January 2, 1996 KY · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects

THE EE WAS HELPING MOVE A BELT STRUCTURE & HE STRAINED HIS BACK WHILE DOING THIS.

1995 · 2 incidents

November 14, 1995 KY · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects

EMPLOYEE WAS HANGING MINING CABLE AND STRAINED HIS BACK WHILE DOING THIS.

1994 · 3 incidents

August 30, 1994 KY · Coal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

THE EMPLOYEE WAS SHOVELING BELT AND TWISTED KNEE CAUSIGN PATELLA TO BECOME DISLOCATED.

April 16, 1994 KY · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Fall to the walkway or working surface

THE EE WAS BUILDING A BRADDISH HE THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO FALL AND WHEN HE TURNED TO RUN HE FELL AND CONTUSED HIS ELBOW.

April 12, 1994 KY · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator POWERED HAULAGE
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

WAS CHANGING HYD HOSE ON LOADER AND BUCKET WAS ON GROUND WITH TEETH IN DIRT THERE WERE TOOLS ON THE INSIDE ON LOADER ARMS AND AS HE WAS REACHING IN TO GET A WRENCH THE BUCKET ROLLED DOWN AND P INNED HIM AGAINST LOADER.

1993 · 4 incidents

November 29, 1993 KY · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

THE EMPLOYEE WAS DOWN ON KNEES, PERFORMIGN MAINTENANCE ON SCOOP. HE LOOSENED A NUT AND HIS BACK WENT OUT.

November 9, 1993 KY · Coal HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Absorption of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

LIGHT BATTERY DRIPPED ACID IN THE MINING CAP, WHEN HE PUT THE MINING CAPON THE ACID THAT HAD DRIPPED IN CAP CAME OUT, DRIPPED DOWN FOREHEAD AND GOT INTO HIS LEFT EYE.

May 8, 1993 KY · Coal shuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Fall from machine

WORKING ON #2 BELT MAKING BELT SPLICE WHEN HE STEPPED OFF BELT CREELED RIGHT ANKLE.

January 7, 1993 KY · Coal scoop car operator HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Cougar Coal Company Inc · Struck by flying object

INJURED WAS HELPING ANOTHER EMPLOYEE REPLACE FLIGHTS IN FEEDER CONVAYOR CHAIN WHEN RAILRAOD JACK SLIPPED OUT FROM UDNER CHAIN ALLOWING CHAIN TO STRIKE FINGER.