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

Prep Plant: 180 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Horace Garrison Hill
Cranks, Harlan County, KY  ·  NonProducing
MSHA Mine ID: 1515772

Prep Plant has $24K in proposed MSHA penalties and $621 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Prep Plant.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
1988–1993
Latest incident
Feb 1993
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
180
citations
49
significant & substantial
$24,437
proposed penalties
$23,816
paid to date
97% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $621 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Red Flame Coal Company's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
94
inspections on record
1,361
inspection hours
13.2
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.
180 citations across 1,361 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Prep Plant has $24K in proposed MSHA penalties and $621 outstanding across 0 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.
$24K
proposed penalties
$24K
current assessed
$24K
paid to date
$621
outstanding
159 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-09-11.
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.
30.8%
significant & substantial
1.3%
high negligence or reckless
30.8%
reasonably likely or greater
1.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 7.5% low, 91.2% moderate, 1.3% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Prep Plant shows 100% of 57 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: 2018-09-26, 7 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
57
samples
0.89
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.
57 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER24
  • TIPPLE OPERATOR11
  • UTILITY MAN5

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.

Last sampled: 2018-09-26, 7 years ago
4%
over PEL
27
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER10
  • TIPPLE OPERATOR4
  • UTILITY MAN3
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
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.
Year within 1.5 mg/m3 samples
2018 100% 2
2014 100% 2
2013 100% 2
2012 100% 4
2011 100% 1
2010 100% 2
2009 100% 1
2008 100% 6
2007 100% 4
2006 100% 4
2005 100% 3
2004 100% 4
2003 100% 6
2002 100% 5
2001 100% 6
2000 100% 5
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2018 0% 2
2014 0% 2
2013 0% 2
2012 0% 1
2011 0% 1
2008 0% 2
2007 0% 2
2006 0% 2
2005 0% 2
2003 0% 4
2002 0% 2
2001 0% 2
2000 33% 3
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. New Harlan Block Coal Company Inc 1986 to 1989
  2. Day Branch Coal Company Inc 1989 to 1994
  3. Saylor Brothers Enterprises Inc 1994 to 1995
  4. D & C Mining Corporation 1995 to 2018
  5. Red Flame Coal Company 2018 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2019 0
2018 0
2017 0
2016 0
2015 0
2014 3
2013 2
2012 3
2011 3
2010 2
2009 2
2008 3
2007 3
2006 4
2005 5
2004 3
2003 2
2002 2
2001 2
2000 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Prep Plant sits in Harlan County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.3% 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.
Harlan County, Kentucky · Population 26,185
4.3%
Mining share of county employment
$37,198
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 0 0 0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 0 0 0
2017 Q3 0 0 0
2017 Q2 0 0 0
Show 68 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 0 0 0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2015 Q4 0 0 0
2015 Q3 0 0 0
2015 Q2 0 0 0
2014 Q4 1,076 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 1,105 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 1,371 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 408 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 1,300 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 694 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 0 0 0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 1,067 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 1,178 2 0 1697.8
2012 Q2 1,093 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 1,791 4 3 2233.4
2011 Q4 1,405 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 1,076 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 960 3 1 3125.0
2011 Q1 1,154 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 885 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 641 3 0 4680.2
2010 Q2 0 0 0
2010 Q1 1,047 2 0 1910.2
2009 Q4 1,167 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 1,260 11 2 8730.2
2009 Q2 1,229 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 1,121 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 1,606 5 1 3113.3
2008 Q3 1,475 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 1,330 5 1 3759.4
2008 Q1 1,343 2 1 1489.2
2007 Q4 1,132 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 1,014 5 2 4931.0
2007 Q2 1,096 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 1,485 1 1 673.4
2006 Q4 1,714 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 2,179 2 0 917.9
2006 Q2 2,571 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 3,142 11 1 3501.0
2005 Q4 2,727 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 2,848 5 0 1755.6
2005 Q2 2,643 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 2,289 10 1 4368.7
2004 Q4 1,475 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 819 2 1 2442.0
2004 Q2 846 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 1,402 12 6 8559.2
2003 Q4 1,553 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 1,395 14 5 10035.8
2003 Q2 1,463 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 1,435 14 8 9756.1
2002 Q4 1,418 6 0 4231.3
2002 Q3 1,456 11 5 7554.9
2002 Q2 1,407 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 1,192 26 6 21812.1
2001 Q4 1,749 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 1,193 2 0 1676.4
2001 Q2 1,311 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 1,348 1 0 741.8
2000 Q4 1,630 1 0 613.5
2000 Q3 1,403 7 1 4989.3
2000 Q2 994 1 0 1006.0
2000 Q1 1,080 1 1 925.9
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

1993 · 1 incident

February 23, 1993 KY · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech MACHINERY
Day Branch Coal Company Inc · Struck against a moving object

ATTEMPTING TO START GASOLINE WELDER AND FINGER CAME IN CONTACT WITH BLADES ON FAN LEFT INDEX FINGER.

1988 · 1 incident

December 7, 1988 KY · Coal tipple/top lander/skip dumper operator, binman, topman HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
New Harlan Block Coal Company Inc · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

THE EMPLOYEE WAS HAMMERING KEY STEEL INTO A MOTOR SHAFT USING ANOTHER OBJECT FOR DRIVING (E.G. CHISEL). THE DRIVING OBJECT SPLINTERED AND SLIVERS OF THE METAL BECAME DETACHED SO THAT THEY ENTE RED THE EMPLOYEE'S HAND WHICH WAS HOLDING THE DRIVING OBJECT.