Mining Incidents

PORTABLE CRUSHER: 119 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Absmeier Landscaping & Construction · Surface
Controlled by Adrian August Absmeier
Alamosa, Conejos County, CO  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 0504358

PORTABLE CRUSHER has $58K in proposed MSHA penalties and $19K outstanding across 5 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 2000
119
citations
51
significant & substantial
$58,396
proposed penalties
$39,282
paid to date
67% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $19,114 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
48
inspections on record
663
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: 663 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

PORTABLE CRUSHER has $58K in proposed MSHA penalties and $19K outstanding across 5 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.
$58K
proposed penalties
$58K
current assessed
$39K
paid to date
$19K
outstanding
116 assessments are final orders; 5 contested dockets.
Of $22K in penalties contested before the Commission, $22K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-11.
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.
44.0%
significant & substantial
23.3%
high negligence or reckless
44.0%
reasonably likely or greater
62.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 5.2% low, 71.6% moderate, 23.3% 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.
15 citations taken to the federal commission · 13% of citations on record
  • Settled 6 · 40%
  • Stood as issued 9 · 60%
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 7 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
1%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$19K proposed, $19K 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 2010-07-20.
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
WEST 2010-1577M Default Lesnick 2011 $18K → $18K
WEST20010192M Default Barbour 2001 $2K → $2K
WEST20030168M Default Barbour 2003 $1K → $1K
WEST 2010-1578M Settlement Lesnick 2011 $751 → $629
WEST20010193M Default Barbour 2001 $640 → $640
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: 2024-09-16
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
5
samples
2
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg2
  • Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz1
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (5)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2024-09-16 Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.61 10 0.06 Front-end Loader Operator
2017-07-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2010-10-14 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.14 Crusher Oper/Worker
2010-10-14 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.13 1.07 0.12 Front-end Loader Operator
2005-10-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
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. Malouff Construction 1988 to 2008
  2. Absmeier Landscaping & Construction 2008 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 3
2025 3
2024 2
2023 2
2022 2
2021 2
2020 1
2019 1
2018 2
2017 2
2016 2
2015 2
2014 2
2013 2
2012 1
2011 2
2010 2
2009 2
2008 2
2007 1
2006 3
2005 0
2004 1
2003 1
2002 0
2000 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

PORTABLE CRUSHER sits in Conejos County, Colorado, where the Census mining category is 0.7% 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.
Conejos County, Colorado · Population 7,536
0.7%
Mining share of county employment
$47,209
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
2026 Q2 882 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 413 2 0 4842.6
2025 Q4 740 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 959 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 710 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 437 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 566 2 0 3533.6
2024 Q3 218 0 0 0.0
Show 78 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 196 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 168 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 152 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 180 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 165 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 145 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 178 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 210 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 190 1 0 5263.2
2022 Q1 178 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 159 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 178 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 162 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 135 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 176 6 1 34090.9
2020 Q3 134 2 0 14925.4
2020 Q2 122 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 116 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 130 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 156 1 0 6410.3
2019 Q2 140 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 105 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 112 1 0 8928.6
2018 Q3 134 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 134 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 112 3 0 26785.7
2017 Q4 122 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 145 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 130 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 116 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 102 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 130 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 118 6 1 50847.5
2016 Q1 104 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 90 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 92 1 1 10869.6
2015 Q2 92 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 92 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 108 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 143 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 120 1 0 8333.3
2014 Q1 86 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 134 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 112 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 138 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 85 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 380 2 0 5263.2
2012 Q3 348 3 1 8620.7
2012 Q2 293 1 0 3413.0
2012 Q1 240 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 240 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 325 1 0 3076.9
2011 Q2 550 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 450 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 365 5 3 13698.6
2010 Q3 390 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 430 18 8 41860.5
2010 Q1 290 2 0 6896.6
2009 Q4 212 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 412 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 540 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 180 7 3 38888.9
2008 Q4 223 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 458 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 280 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 48 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 120 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 0 0 0
2006 Q1 0 0 0
2005 Q2 0 0 0
2005 Q1 0 0 0
2004 Q3 240 1 0 4166.7
2004 Q2 260 1 0 3846.2
2003 Q4 80 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 160 8 1 50000.0
2002 Q3 0 0 0
2000 Q4 176 28 24 159090.9

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.