Poundmill Mine No 90 has $180K in proposed MSHA penalties and $371 outstanding across 27 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
Watch this mine
Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Poundmill Mine No 90.
Fatalities
0
Total incidents
15
Years on record
2012–2016
Latest incident
Mar 2016
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
423
citations
107
significant & substantial
$179,581
proposed penalties
$146,485
paid to date
82% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $33,096 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.
423 citations across 3,552 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Poundmill Mine No 90 has $180K in proposed MSHA penalties and $371 outstanding across 27 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.
$180K
proposed penalties
$147K
current assessed
$146K
paid to date
$371
outstanding
409 assessments are final orders; 27 contested dockets.
Of $106K in penalties contested before the Commission, $73K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2016-03-14.
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.
87citations taken to the federal commission · 21% of citations on record
Settled
87 · 100%
99%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 67 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
31%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$106K proposed, $73K 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 2016-09-19.
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.
MSHA sampling at Poundmill Mine No 90 shows 97% of 401 respirable coal dust samples met the 1.5 mg/m3 standard.
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.
Respirable coal dust
ⓘRespirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.
Last sampled: 2016-02-01, 10 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
401
samples
3.58
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
ⓘThe excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.
198 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 203 by the operator.
Noise
ⓘThe share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.
Health sampling trend
ⓘ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.
Respirable coal dust by year
ⓘRespirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.
Poundmill Mine No 90 recorded 8.49 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2016.
Injury rate, 2016
ⓘ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.
8.49
total case rate
8.49
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.79 and the all-US-mining average was 2.59 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.56 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
2016 *
8.49
8.49
0.000
2015 *
6.25
4.17
0.000
2014 *
8.85
4.42
0.000
2013 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2012
1.90
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
ⓘCoal production is reported quarterly and lags the current period; the most recent quarters may be incomplete.
Year
Employees
Coal produced (tons)
2016
10
88,989
2015
43
237,318
2014
41
279,320
2013
42
298,440
2012
44
234,340
2011
27
18,680
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Poundmill Mine No 90 sits in Perry County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.3% 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.
Perry County, Kentucky · Population 27,847
3.3%
Mining share of county employment
$45,261
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
2016 Q4
0
0
0
2016 Q3
0
0
0
2016 Q2
950
0
0
0.0
2016 Q1
22,615
25
5
1105.5
2015 Q4
22,985
35
9
1522.7
2015 Q3
24,237
27
16
1114.0
2015 Q2
23,965
32
17
1335.3
2015 Q1
24,794
15
5
605.0
Show 13 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2014 Q4
22,771
16
1
702.6
2014 Q3
22,244
16
3
719.3
2014 Q2
23,387
8
0
342.1
2014 Q1
22,031
10
2
453.9
2013 Q4
20,068
7
0
348.8
2013 Q3
20,172
18
3
892.3
2013 Q2
21,337
7
0
328.1
2013 Q1
23,676
7
1
295.7
2012 Q4
27,045
40
6
1479.0
2012 Q3
26,487
28
3
1057.1
2012 Q2
26,789
37
12
1381.2
2012 Q1
25,191
30
6
1190.9
2011 Q4
11,223
26
7
2316.7
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
15 on file
2016 · 1 incident
March 14, 2016KY · Coalbull gang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, section foreman, shift bossHANDLING OF MATERIALS
Found 2 unintentional roof falls in the 1st and 2nd Maces Bleeder Panels. Both falls were located from the #2 entry through the crosscut to the #4 entry.
A supervisory employee was working in and around the drift mouth changing out a frozen section of 4" fresh waterline. A small hole in his glove resulted in a "frost bite" injury that required a medical procedure to remove the dead/damaged tissue on March 6, 2015 which then made this a Reportable Injury.
February 3, 2015KY · Coalbeltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor riderSLIP OR FALL OF PERSON