Mining Incidents

Noble Mine #1: 55 MSHA citations Coal

Noble Construction · Surface
Controlled by Richard E Noble
Bulan, Perry County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1518399

Noble Mine #1 has $5K in proposed MSHA penalties and $597 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 2002
55
citations
21
significant & substantial
$5,279
proposed penalties
$4,682
paid to date
89% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $597 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
31
inspections on record
439
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: 439 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Noble Mine #1 has $5K in proposed MSHA penalties and $597 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.
$5K
proposed penalties
$5K
current assessed
$5K
paid to date
$597
outstanding
54 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $1K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2006-08-02.
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.
38.9%
significant & substantial
1.9%
high negligence or reckless
38.9%
reasonably likely or greater
5.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 18.5% low, 79.6% moderate, 1.9% high, 0.0% reckless.
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.
3 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 3 · 100%
100%
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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$1K proposed, $1K 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 2005-02-24.
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 2005-154 Dismissal Lesnick 2005 $935 → $935
KENT 2005-155 Dismissal Lesnick 2005 $475 → $475
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Noble Mine #1 shows 96% of 24 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: 2006-07-19, 20 years ago
96%
within 1.5 mg/m3
24
samples
1.80
dust max (mg/m3)
24 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER5
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE5

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2005-04-07, 21 years ago
19.9
silica avg (%)
2
samples
23.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR1

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: 2006-03-29, 20 years ago
0%
over PEL
24
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER5
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE5
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
2006 100% 4
2005 100% 9
2004 75% 4
2003 100% 5
2002 100% 2
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2005 23.1 1
2004 16.7 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2006 0% 3
2005 0% 9
2004 0% 7
2003 0% 3
2002 0% 2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Noble Construction 2001 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)
2006 2 6,954
2005 6 27,007
2004 4 15,501
2003 3 23,132
2002 3 39,192
2001 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Noble Mine #1 sits in Perry County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.3% 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.
Perry County, Kentucky · Population 27,847
3.3%
Mining share of county employment
$45,261
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
2006 Q4 0 0 0
2006 Q2 520 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 400 6 0 15000.0
2005 Q4 600 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 600 5 3 8333.3
2005 Q2 600 1 0 1666.7
2005 Q1 600 13 6 21666.7
2004 Q4 600 0 0 0.0
Show 12 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2004 Q3 1,560 3 3 1923.1
2004 Q2 160 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 400 2 0 5000.0
2003 Q4 500 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 1,450 2 1 1379.3
2003 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 480 1 0 2083.3
2002 Q4 480 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 650 1 0 1538.5
2002 Q2 1,350 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 1,440 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 0 0 0

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.