Mining Incidents

Rices Chapel Mine: 9 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Michael T Costello
Sipsey, Walker County, AL  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0103080

Rices Chapel Mine has $799 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
1
Years on record
2000
Latest incident
Jul 2000
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
9
citations
4
significant & substantial
$799
proposed penalties
$799
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
9
inspections on record
108
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: 108 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Rices Chapel Mine has $799 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.
$799
proposed penalties
$799
current assessed
$799
paid to date
$0
outstanding
9 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2001-06-11.
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.
44.4%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
44.4%
reasonably likely or greater
11.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 100.0% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Rices Chapel Mine shows 97% of 33 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: 2001-06-11, 25 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
33
samples
1.65
dust max (mg/m3)
18 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 15 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR13
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE9
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2001-06-19, 25 years ago
5.8
silica avg (%)
4
samples
10.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR2
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2

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: 2000-02-16, 26 years ago
0%
over PEL
5
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
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
2001 88% 8
2000 100% 25
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2001 6.7 2
2000 5.0 2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Rices Chapel Mine recorded 7.81 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2000.

Injury rate, 2000
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.
7.81
total case rate
7.81
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
About average. The US coal mining average was 7.74 and the all-US-mining average was 5.64 cases per 100 workers.
In Alabama, coal mining averaged 10.94 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.
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. Mc Wane Inc 1996 to 1997
  2. M S & R Equipment Company Inc 1997 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)
2001 13 39,020
2000 16 99,986
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Rices Chapel Mine sits in Walker County, Alabama, 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.
Walker County, Alabama · Population 64,886
3.3%
Mining share of county employment
$54,509
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
2001 Q2 7,445 4 2 537.3
2001 Q1 6,112 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 8,124 1 0 123.1
2000 Q3 8,320 3 1 360.6
2000 Q2 8,116 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 1,044 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2000 · 1 incident