Mining Incidents
Search Operators Mines Alerts Research Controllers Fatalgrams About
Countries
Peru Chile
English Español
← Back to search

Portable Rock Production Co. Sears Pit: 1 recorded fatality Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Lonny Bessett
Pleasant Hill, Lane County, OR  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3502761

Portable Rock Production Co. Sears Pit has $114K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 10 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Portable Rock Production Co. Sears Pit.

Fatalities
1
Total incidents
8
Years on record
1992–2005
Latest incident
Feb 2005
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
160
citations
27
significant & substantial
$113,763
proposed penalties
$60,235
paid to date
53% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $53,529 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Portable Rock Production Company Inc's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
60
inspections on record
831
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: 831 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 Rock Production Co. Sears Pit has $114K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 10 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.
$114K
proposed penalties
$60K
current assessed
$60K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
156 assessments are final orders; 10 contested dockets.
Of $96K in penalties contested before the Commission, $42K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-06-19.
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.
17.2%
significant & substantial
14.7%
high negligence or reckless
16.0%
reasonably likely or greater
66.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.6% none, 17.3% low, 67.3% moderate, 12.8% high, 1.9% 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.
51 citations taken to the federal commission · 32% of citations on record
  • Settled 43 · 84%
  • Stood as issued 7 · 14%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 2%
60%
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 15 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
56%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$96K proposed, $42K 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 2014-08-18.
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 2006-583M Settlement Barbour 2007 $62K → $22K
WEST 2011-550M Settlement Barbour 2014 $19K → $11K
WEST 2007-521M Settlement Barbour 2011 $7K → $4K
WEST 2010-1627M Settlement Barbour 2011 $5K → $3K
WEST 2013-484M Settlement Simonton 2013 $807 → $500
WEST 2008-781M Dismissal Lesnick 2009 $500 → $500
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: 2016-08-30, 10 years ago
10
samples
0
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz10
Show the individual readings (10)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2016-08-30 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.2 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-11-13 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.44 Front-end Loader Operator
2005-11-30 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.15 Bulldozer Operator
2005-11-30 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.26 Crusher Oper/Worker
2005-11-30 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.18 Mobile Crane Operator
2005-11-30 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.18 Front-end Loader Operator
2002-09-05 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.42 Crusher Oper/Worker
2002-09-05 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.92 Front-end Loader Operator
2001-01-17 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.3 Front-end Loader Operator
2001-01-17 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 1.22 Bulldozer 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. Zumwalt & Williams Sand & Gravel Inc 1950 to 1979
  2. Portable Rock Production Company Inc 1979 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2019 3
2018 3
2017 3
2016 2
2015 3
2014 3
2013 3
2012 3
2011 4
2010 3
2009 3
2008 4
2007 4
2006 3
2005 4
2004 4
2003 4
2002 5
2001 4
2000 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Portable Rock Production Co. Sears Pit sits in Lane County, Oregon, 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.
Lane County, Oregon · Population 382,628
0.1%
Mining share of county employment
$69,311
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
2019 Q2 921 1 0 1085.8
2019 Q1 173 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 450 5 4 11111.1
2018 Q3 1,194 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 1,338 3 1 2242.2
2018 Q1 1,331 1 0 751.3
2017 Q4 1,268 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,216 1 0 822.4
Show 70 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2017 Q2 1,683 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 1,456 1 0 686.8
2016 Q4 1,495 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 841 1 0 1189.1
2016 Q2 1,061 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 1,346 1 0 742.9
2015 Q4 738 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 864 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 1,268 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 1,709 2 0 1170.3
2014 Q4 1,136 4 0 3521.1
2014 Q3 811 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 1,440 4 0 2777.8
2014 Q1 1,197 1 0 835.4
2013 Q4 1,535 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,007 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 962 3 0 3118.5
2013 Q1 1,275 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 1,010 3 0 2970.3
2012 Q3 1,159 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 899 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 981 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1,161 1 0 861.3
2011 Q3 2,033 1 1 491.9
2011 Q2 997 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 917 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 1,201 1 0 832.6
2010 Q3 1,237 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 766 17 4 22193.2
2010 Q1 1,035 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 1,454 4 0 2751.0
2009 Q3 1,433 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 1,815 2 0 1101.9
2009 Q1 1,334 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 1,859 4 0 2151.7
2008 Q3 1,686 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 1,525 4 1 2623.0
2008 Q1 2,264 6 0 2650.2
2007 Q4 2,829 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 2,335 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 2,376 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 2,320 16 2 6896.6
2006 Q4 1,811 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 2,208 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 1,969 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 603 7 3 11608.6
2005 Q4 3,206 12 1 3743.0
2005 Q3 1,871 2 0 1068.9
2005 Q2 1,831 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 2,491 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 1,202 6 0 4991.7
2004 Q3 481 9 0 18711.0
2004 Q2 2,606 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 3,368 10 5 2969.1
2003 Q4 695 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 983 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 1,553 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 820 3 1 3658.5
2002 Q4 2,683 2 0 745.4
2002 Q3 1,949 4 1 2052.3
2002 Q2 542 1 0 1845.0
2002 Q1 2,630 1 0 380.2
2001 Q4 1,984 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 2,423 6 0 2476.3
2001 Q2 2,404 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 2,291 7 1 3055.4
2000 Q4 2,065 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 1,129 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 1,773 1 0 564.0
2000 Q1 1,834 2 2 1090.5

Fatalities at this mine

1 recorded
September 2, 1998 OR · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer Fatality · MACHINERY
Portable Rock Production Company Inc · Struck against a moving object

HE DROVE THE CAT ACROSS GROUND THAT THE DRILLER WOULD NOT TAKE HIS DRILL ACROSS TO FUEL IT. HE INDICATED TO THE CREW THAT HE WAS GOING TO WIDEN AND STRAIGHTEN OUT THE ROAD THAT MORNING. INSTEA D HE PUT FUEL IN THE BUCKET AND TRIED TO GO ACROSS THIS AREA. IT GAVE WAY AND THE CAT ROLLED 2 1/2 TIMES AND HE STAYED IN THE CAGE.

Reportable incidents

7 on file (excluding fatalities above)

2005 · 1 incident

2002 · 1 incident

June 5, 2002 OR · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer POWERED HAULAGE
Portable Rock Production Company Inc · Struck against a moving object

LOADER ENGINE DIED GOING DOWNHILL - STRUCK PICKUP & TREE.

1997 · 2 incidents

September 11, 1997 OR · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech STEPPING OR KNEELING ON OBJECT
Portable Rock Production Company Inc · Struck against stationary object

HE WAS WALKING AND STEPPED ON A ROCK. HIS ANKLE TURNED AND BROKE HIS RIGHT ANKLE. THE ROCK DID NOT TURN OVER.

January 7, 1997 OR · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Portable Rock Production Company Inc · Fall from machine

IT HAD BEEN RAINING AND THE LOADER WAS WET, EE WAS GREASING IT AND HE FELL AND WAS KNOCKED OUT.

1996 · 1 incident

December 23, 1996 OR · Metal/Non-Metal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider MACHINERY
Portable Rock Production Company Inc · Struck by flying object

ROCK FLEW OUT OF JAW CRUSHER AND HIT HIM IN THE RT EYE. HOWEVER, HE DID NOT GOT TO THE DR UNTIL JAN 3RD. HE HAD CATARACT SURGERY IN THIS EYE IN THE FALL OF 96.

1993 · 1 incident

March 12, 1993 OR · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Portable Rock Production Company Inc · Struck by falling object

HE WAS WORKING ON A SCREENING PLANT THAT WAS BEING BUILT IN OUR SHOP HE FELL & A PIECE OF METAL CAME DOWN HITTING HIM & HE DIED

1992 · 1 incident