Portable Plant CO has $46K 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
3
Years on record
1994–2009
Latest incident
Nov 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
106
citations
31
significant & substantial
$46,019
proposed penalties
$41,117
paid to date
89% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $4,902 gap.
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: 525 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 CO has $46K 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.
$46K
proposed penalties
$41K
current assessed
$41K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
106 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $25K in penalties contested before the Commission, $20K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-17.
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.
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.
4citations taken to the federal commission · 4% of citations on record
Settled
4 · 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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
20%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$20K proposed, $16K 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 2004-10-29.
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.
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: 2026-04-17
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
10
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Respirable dust, <.1mg7
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz2
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (10)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2026-04-17
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2026-04-17
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.33
Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator
2026-04-17
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2026-04-17
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Truck Driver
2025-08-22
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Truck Driver
2025-08-22
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2011-10-25
Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz
0.17
Dredge/Barge Operator
2011-10-25
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2009-04-29
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.33
2.17
0.15
Dredge/Barge Operator
2009-04-29
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.
Portable Plant CO recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2011.
Injury rate, 2011
ⓘThis rate is reportable injury cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year, computed as 200,000 times cases divided by MSHA operator-reported employee-hours. Cases are injuries MSHA graded degree 01 through 07; accident-only events that hurt no one are excluded, and so are contractor injuries, whose hours do not attach to a single mine. Rates begin in 2000, when quarterly employment reporting starts, and are withheld below 20,000 hours in a year.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 2.56 and the all-US-mining average was 3.08 cases per 100 workers.
In Kansas, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 4.02 cases per 100 workers that year.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2011 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2010 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2009 *
9.87
9.87
0.000
2001 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
Source: injury cases from MSHA accident and injury records; employee-hours from MSHA quarterly employment reports. Rate is cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, operator employees only.
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year
Employees
2026
5
2025
4
2020
2
2019
5
2018
2
2017
0
2016
11
2015
4
2013
2
2012
9
2011
10
2010
8
2009
9
2008
8
2007
8
2006
7
2005
6
2004
5
2003
6
2002
7
2001
9
2000
6
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Portable Plant CO sits in Sherman County, Kansas, where the Census mining category is 0.1% 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.
Sherman County, Kansas · Population 5,919
0.1%
Mining share of county employment
$64,444
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
4,381
11
2
2510.8
2026 Q1
3,103
0
0
0.0
2025 Q4
2,374
0
0
0.0
2025 Q3
338
3
1
8875.7
2025 Q2
619
0
0
0.0
2020 Q2
160
1
0
6250.0
2020 Q1
140
0
0
0.0
2019 Q4
2,925
0
0
0.0
Show 69 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2019 Q3
3,894
6
4
1540.8
2019 Q2
900
0
0
0.0
2019 Q1
0
0
0
2018 Q4
376
0
0
0.0
2018 Q3
0
0
0
2018 Q2
320
0
0
0.0
2018 Q1
530
7
2
13207.5
2017 Q1
0
0
0
2016 Q3
5,693
0
0
0.0
2016 Q2
4,726
2
1
423.2
2015 Q4
0
0
0
2015 Q3
1,820
0
0
0.0
2015 Q2
2,429
4
4
1646.8
2015 Q1
743
0
0
0.0
2013 Q3
10
0
0
0.0
2013 Q2
6
0
0
0.0
2013 Q1
5
3
1
600000.0
2012 Q4
2,010
0
0
0.0
2012 Q3
4,974
0
0
0.0
2012 Q2
5,260
6
2
1140.7
2012 Q1
4,486
0
0
0.0
2011 Q4
5,495
3
0
546.0
2011 Q3
6,328
1
0
158.0
2011 Q2
6,342
0
0
0.0
2011 Q1
5,870
0
0
0.0
2010 Q4
5,089
1
1
196.5
2010 Q3
5,406
0
0
0.0
2010 Q2
4,957
2
0
403.5
2010 Q1
4,770
0
0
0.0
2009 Q4
4,853
0
0
0.0
2009 Q3
5,881
0
0
0.0
2009 Q2
3,636
4
2
1100.1
2009 Q1
5,901
0
0
0.0
2008 Q4
4,452
0
0
0.0
2008 Q3
1,030
0
0
0.0
2008 Q2
4,711
0
0
0.0
2008 Q1
4,845
1
1
206.4
2007 Q4
4,352
0
0
0.0
2007 Q3
4,629
0
0
0.0
2007 Q2
4,938
0
0
0.0
2007 Q1
4,424
0
0
0.0
2006 Q4
4,300
7
1
1627.9
2006 Q3
3,478
0
0
0.0
2006 Q2
4,494
1
1
222.5
2006 Q1
4,597
0
0
0.0
2005 Q4
2,976
0
0
0.0
2005 Q3
4,657
0
0
0.0
2005 Q2
4,045
0
0
0.0
2005 Q1
3,615
0
0
0.0
2004 Q4
3,697
0
0
0.0
2004 Q3
2,731
5
2
1830.8
2004 Q2
2,739
0
0
0.0
2004 Q1
3,369
0
0
0.0
2003 Q4
3,970
7
3
1763.2
2003 Q3
2,453
11
1
4484.3
2003 Q2
2,340
0
0
0.0
2003 Q1
1,966
0
0
0.0
2002 Q4
3,132
0
0
0.0
2002 Q3
3,466
1
1
288.5
2002 Q2
3,825
14
0
3660.1
2002 Q1
4,065
0
0
0.0
2001 Q4
5,300
0
0
0.0
2001 Q3
5,446
0
0
0.0
2001 Q2
5,560
0
0
0.0
2001 Q1
5,169
0
0
0.0
2000 Q4
5,498
0
0
0.0
2000 Q3
2,155
0
0
0.0
2000 Q2
2,981
0
0
0.0
2000 Q1
2,223
0
0
0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
3 on file
2009 · 1 incident
November 23, 2009KS · Metal/Non-Metalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorPOWERED HAULAGE
Laborer was starting the wash plant. Conveyor would not turn. He climbed up to conveyor and tried to manually rotate belt. Coat got caught in pully and pulled him into conveyor belt slicing his left arm open. He got out of the conveyor and walked to office. Medical treatment started.
HE WAS REMOVING BOLTS FROM SCREWS THAT HELD THE LOOP OF THE SANDSCREW TO THE SANDSCREW. THE SANDSCREW WAS NOT SECURED BY A CRANE. IT STOOD THERE FOR A WHILE THEN FELL OVER. EMPLOYEE RAN BUT WA S CAUGHT UNDER THE SANDSCREW.
1994 · 1 incident
June 11, 1994KS · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)