Mining Incidents

Pound Hill Quarry: 114 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

North Smithfield, Providence County, RI  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 3700212

Pound Hill Quarry has $32K in proposed MSHA penalties and $313 outstanding across 21 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2020–2025
Latest incident
Sep 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
114
citations
24
significant & substantial
$31,907
proposed penalties
$25,105
paid to date
79% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $6,802 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
38
inspections on record
643
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: 643 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
A Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
2
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2023-01-30.
On record since 2023.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.

Pound Hill Quarry has $32K in proposed MSHA penalties and $313 outstanding across 21 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.
$32K
proposed penalties
$25K
current assessed
$25K
paid to date
$313
outstanding
111 assessments are final orders; 21 contested dockets.
Of $54K in penalties contested before the Commission, $19K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-11-25.
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.
21.4%
significant & substantial
3.6%
high negligence or reckless
21.4%
reasonably likely or greater
60.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 42.9% low, 53.6% moderate, 3.6% 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.
85 citations taken to the federal commission · 75% of citations on record
  • Settled 50 · 59%
  • Stood as issued 25 · 29%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 9 · 11%
  • Still open 1 · 1%
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 30 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
64%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$54K 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 2025-11-26.
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 2023-0056 Vacate Moran 2024 $27K → $0
YORK 2015-0124 Settlement Moran 2016 $11K → $7K
YORK 2023-0055 Settlement Moran 2024 $3K → $3K
YORK 2022-0035 Settlement McCarthy 2022 $3K → $2K
YORK 2011-208M Settlement Koutras 2012 $2K → $1K
YORK 2012-304M Settlement Miller 2012 $1K → $800
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: 2025-11-25
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
20
samples
6
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg11
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz8
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (20)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2025-11-25 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.26 0.63 0.41 Laborer, Bullgang
2025-11-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2025-11-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2025-11-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-11-25 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2025-09-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2025-09-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-09-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Laborer, Bullgang
2023-06-30 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.22 0.57 0.39 Utility Man
2023-06-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Complete Load-Haul-Dump
2023-02-01 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.21 2.08 0.58 Utility Man
2023-02-01 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.8 Front-end Loader Operator
2021-05-21 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2021-05-21 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.3 0.89 0.34 Front-end Loader Operator
2021-05-21 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.27 Backhoe Operator
2016-05-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Drill Operator, Rotary
2015-04-15 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2015-04-15 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.31 1.5 0.21 Jackhammer Operator
2012-06-19 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.51 Backhoe Operator
2012-06-19 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.18 0.96 0.19 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.

Pound Hill Quarry recorded 8.15 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.

Injury rate, 2025
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.
8.15
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In Rhode Island, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.53 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
2025 * 8.15 0.00 0.000
2024 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2023 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2021 * 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.
Ownership history
  1. Material Sand & Stone Corp 2011 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 9
2025 11
2024 11
2023 10
2022 9
2021 9
2020 8
2019 9
2018 9
2017 8
2016 7
2015 10
2014 16
2013 9
2012 4
2011 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Pound Hill Quarry sits in Providence County, Rhode Island, 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.
Providence County, Rhode Island · Population 658,977
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$78,204
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 5,258 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 3,548 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 6,467 5 2 773.2
2025 Q3 6,079 1 1 164.5
2025 Q2 6,992 5 0 715.1
2025 Q1 5,013 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 6,977 4 2 573.3
2024 Q3 6,582 2 0 303.9
Show 54 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 6,721 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 5,561 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 5,868 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 6,355 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 6,025 2 0 332.0
2023 Q1 4,506 5 1 1109.6
2022 Q4 5,728 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 5,773 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 5,012 5 0 997.6
2022 Q1 3,954 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 5,234 16 3 3056.9
2021 Q3 6,182 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 5,218 3 1 574.9
2021 Q1 3,937 5 0 1270.0
2020 Q4 4,529 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 4,338 1 1 230.5
2020 Q2 4,262 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 4,468 1 1 223.8
2019 Q4 5,353 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 5,255 8 1 1522.4
2019 Q2 5,784 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 3,349 2 0 597.2
2018 Q4 5,286 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 5,363 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 5,148 2 1 388.5
2018 Q1 3,114 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 4,774 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 4,544 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 3,299 3 1 909.4
2017 Q1 2,173 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 4,469 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 4,216 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 2,430 2 0 823.0
2016 Q1 3,616 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 3,260 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 3,710 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 2,637 6 2 2275.3
2015 Q1 4,244 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 4,429 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 3,476 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 2,651 12 4 4526.6
2014 Q1 733 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 1,971 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,703 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 1,976 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 600 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 856 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 953 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 879 8 0 9101.3
2012 Q1 292 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 501 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 262 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 405 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 0 15 3
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2025 · 1 incident

September 13, 2025 RI · Metal/Non-Metal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver POWERED HAULAGE
Material Sand & Stone Corp · Struck against stationary object

We were building a new ramp at the quarry and as we were building the berms the operator got too close to the edge as EE was attempting to dump and the truck went over the side. The equipment involved was a haul truck, manufactured by Caterpillar, Model 769D.

2023 · 1 incident

2020 · 1 incident

November 11, 2020 RI · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Material Sand & Stone Corp · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

While changing bucket on an excavator, EE was pulling pins and pin slipped and EE tried to catch it and got a finger caught between pin and the bucket.