Mining Incidents

Refuse Operation: 11 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Edward A Asbury
Welch, Mcdowell County, WV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4608916

Refuse Operation has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
11
citations
8
significant & substantial
$1,383
proposed penalties
$1,383
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
19
inspections on record
218
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: 218 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Refuse Operation has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$1K
proposed penalties
$1K
current assessed
$1K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
11 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2005-06-02.
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.
72.7%
significant & substantial
18.2%
high negligence or reckless
72.7%
reasonably likely or greater
27.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 9.1% low, 72.7% moderate, 18.2% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Refuse Operation shows 100% of 5 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: 2005-06-01, 21 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
5
samples
0.90
dust max (mg/m3)
5 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1

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: 2005-06-01, 21 years ago
0%
over PEL
2
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
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
2005 100% 1
2003 100% 1
2002 100% 1
2001 100% 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2005 0% 1
2003 0% 1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Sure Services Inc 2001 to 2008
  2. Superior Processing, Inc. 2008 to present
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)
2010 0
2008 2 218
2007 1 297
2006 2
2005 3 6,356
2004 3 6,806
2003 3 1,934
2002 3 8,226
2001 2 7,164
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Refuse Operation sits in McDowell County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 13.0% 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.
McDowell County, West Virginia · Population 18,413
13.0%
Mining share of county employment
$29,980
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
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q2 136 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 195 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 168 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 112 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 95 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 159 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 111 0 0 0.0
Show 21 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2006 Q3 522 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 810 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 802 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 745 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 915 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 1,138 1 0 878.7
2005 Q1 901 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 958 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 944 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 822 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 774 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 569 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 750 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 678 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 653 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 582 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 792 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 971 2 1 2059.7
2002 Q1 4,050 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 1,257 7 6 5568.8
2001 Q3 35 0 0 0.0

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.