Mining Incidents

Portable Plant #1: 36 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

SODERBERG CO., INC. · Surface
Controlled by Carl J Soderberg
CARIBOU, Aroostook County, ME  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 1700678

Portable Plant #1 has $4K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 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
36
citations
5
significant & substantial
$4,090
proposed penalties
$3,844
paid to date
94% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $246 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
26
inspections on record
289
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: 289 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 Plant #1 has $4K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 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.
$4K
proposed penalties
$4K
current assessed
$4K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
36 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $2K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2024-10-07.
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.
13.9%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
13.9%
reasonably likely or greater
44.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 2.8% none, 41.7% low, 55.6% moderate, 0.0% 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.
18 citations taken to the federal commission · 50% of citations on record
  • Settled 15 · 83%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 3 · 17%
50%
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%
27%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$2K proposed, $2K 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 2019-12-31.
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
YORK 2012-40M Settlement Moran 2013 $893 → $624
YORK 2017-0051 Settlement Bulluck 2018 $476 → $300
YORK 2012-56M Settlement Moran 2013 $243 → $108
YORK 2019-0006 Settlement Miller 2019 $236 → $236
YORK 2012-51M Settlement Moran 2014 $200 → $200
YORK 2020-0037 Settlement Bulluck 2020 $121 → $121
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: 2009-11-18, 16 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
6
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg3
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz2
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (6)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2009-11-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Bulldozer Operator
2009-11-18 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.17 Front-end Loader Operator
2009-11-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2005-06-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2005-06-24 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.22 Front-end Loader Operator
2005-06-24 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.33 0.34 0.97 Crusher Oper/Worker
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. Castonguay Gravel 2000 to 2003
  2. SODERBERG CO., INC. 2003 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 0
2025 0
2024 1
2023 1
2022 2
2021 0
2020 0
2019 2
2018 4
2017 6
2016 6
2015 5
2014 4
2013 2
2012 3
2011 3
2010 3
2009 3
2008 1
2007 2
2006 4
2005 3
2004 1
2000 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Portable Plant #1 sits in Aroostook County, Maine, where the Census mining category is 0.0% 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.
Aroostook County, Maine · Population 67,227
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$54,254
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 0 0 0
2026 Q1 0 0 0
2025 Q4 0 0 0
2025 Q3 0 0 0
2025 Q2 0 0 0
2025 Q1 0 0 0
2024 Q4 540 1 0 1851.9
2024 Q3 650 0 0 0.0
Show 78 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 0 0 0
2024 Q1 0 0 0
2023 Q4 0 0 0
2023 Q3 0 0 0
2023 Q2 5 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 10 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 950 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 600 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 0 0 0
2022 Q1 10 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 0 0 0
2021 Q3 0 0 0
2021 Q2 0 0 0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q4 0 0 0
2020 Q3 0 0 0
2020 Q2 0 0 0
2020 Q1 15 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 810 1 0 1234.6
2019 Q3 1,560 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 1,350 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 5 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 485 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 3,200 2 0 625.0
2018 Q2 2,150 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 10 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 3,045 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 4,368 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 3,740 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 341 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 2,623 3 0 1143.7
2016 Q3 4,442 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 2,760 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 1,681 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 2,314 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 3,409 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 2,553 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 644 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 1,951 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 4,439 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 1,605 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 1,570 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,123 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 363 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 1,475 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 2,931 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 1,641 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 0 0 0
2011 Q4 1,613 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 2,745 7 2 2550.1
2011 Q2 1,817 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 0 0 0
2010 Q4 1,303 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 1,807 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 851 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2009 Q4 1,126 3 1 2664.3
2008 Q3 649 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 734 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 0 0 0
2007 Q4 647 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 588 4 0 6802.7
2007 Q2 396 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 23 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 1,510 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 595 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 2,161 2 1 925.5
2006 Q1 1,502 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 1,572 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 1,042 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 1,409 5 1 3548.6
2005 Q1 0 0 0
2004 Q4 0 0 0
2004 Q3 161 5 0 31055.9
2000 Q4 0 0 0
2000 Q3 180 1 0 5555.6

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.