Mining Incidents

Northeast Materials: 40 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Matthew G Markunas
Hazleton, Luzerne County, PA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3608852

Northeast Materials has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2003
Latest incident
Jul 2003
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
40
citations
16
significant & substantial
$12,279
proposed penalties
$12,174
paid to date
99% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $105 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
19
inspections on record
199
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: 199 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Northeast Materials has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 3 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.
$12K
proposed penalties
$12K
current assessed
$12K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
40 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $7K in penalties contested before the Commission, $6K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2007-05-22.
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.
40.0%
significant & substantial
27.5%
high negligence or reckless
40.0%
reasonably likely or greater
77.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 10.0% low, 62.5% moderate, 27.5% 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.
9 citations taken to the federal commission · 23% of citations on record
  • Settled 7 · 78%
  • Stood as issued 2 · 22%
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 4 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
3%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$7K proposed, $6K 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 2007-08-01.
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
PENN 2007-314M Settlement Lesnick 2009 $6K → $6K
PENN 2003-211-M Settlement Hodgdon 2004 $350 → $245
PENN 2003-206-M Settlement Lesnick 2004 $275 → $165
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2006-05-24, 20 years ago
25%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
5
samples
4
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz41 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg1
Show the individual readings (5)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2005-11-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.14 0.93 1.23 Crusher Oper/Worker
2006-05-24 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.53 0.54 0.98 Crusher Oper/Worker
2005-11-02 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2005-11-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.33 1.57 0.21 Backhoe Operator
2005-11-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.33 1.32 0.25 Truck Driver
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Lonzetta Trucking and Excavating Company 2000 to 2004
  2. Meckley's Limestone Products, Inc. 2004 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2008 0
2007 10
2006 11
2005 6
2004 4
2003 5
2002 5
2001 3
2000 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Northeast Materials sits in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 0.2% 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.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania · Population 325,978
0.2%
Mining share of county employment
$62,321
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
2008 Q1 0 0 0
2007 Q4 1,094 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 4,170 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 3,935 14 7 3557.8
2007 Q1 1,800 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 4,264 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 4,566 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 4,194 0 0 0.0
Show 20 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2006 Q1 1,798 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 2,278 1 1 439.0
2005 Q3 2,779 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 2,687 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 1,354 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 1,608 3 0 1865.7
2004 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 1,920 4 0 2083.3
2003 Q3 2,600 1 1 384.6
2003 Q2 2,080 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 2,400 11 4 4583.3
2002 Q4 1,920 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 2,600 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 2,080 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 2,080 3 2 1442.3
2001 Q2 1,560 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 675 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 1,440 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 1,440 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 290 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2003 · 1 incident

July 9, 2003 PA · Metal/Non-Metal
Lonzetta Trucking and Excavating Company · Struck against stationary object

EE WAS PUSHING MATERIAL WITH A D9 DOZER PREPARING FOR A BLASTING SHOT, WHEN HE BACKED OFF THE HIGH WALL. THE DOZER SLID, JOLTING EE FROM THE D9 DOZER, THROWING HIM TO THE GROUND.