Soak Creek: 29 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal
Cook Stone Company LLC
· Surface
Controlled by
James F Cook Sr; James F Cook Jr
MSHA Mine ID: 4003459
Soak Creek has $8K in proposed MSHA penalties and $5K outstanding across 1 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 2018
29
citations
14
significant & substantial
$8,318
proposed penalties
$3,641
paid to date
44% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $4,677 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2016
27
inspections on record
322
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: 322 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.1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2023-11-17.
On record since 2023.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.
Soak Creek has $8K in proposed MSHA penalties and $5K outstanding across 1 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.$8K
proposed penalties
$8K
current assessed
$4K
paid to date
$5K
outstanding
23 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-21.
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.50.0%
significant & substantial
21.4%
high negligence or reckless
50.0%
reasonably likely or greater
39.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 17.9% low, 60.7% moderate, 21.4% 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.
5
citations taken to the federal commission · 17% of citations on record
- Still open 5 · 100%
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 2025-04-07.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE 2024-0152 | Decision pending |
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: 2026-04-15
ⓘ
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.29%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
19
samples
7
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz82 over
- Respirable dust, <.1mg10
- Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (19)
| Date | Contaminant | Concentration | Limit | Conc / limit | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-02-16 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.44 | 0.41 | 1.07 | Stone Polisher/Cutter |
| 2018-12-12 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.29 | 0.28 | 1.04 | Stone Polisher/Cutter |
| 2026-04-15 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.19 | 0.62 | 0.31 | Front-end Loader Operator |
| 2026-04-15 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Stone Polisher/Cutter | ||
| 2025-02-07 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Front-end Loader Operator | ||
| 2025-02-07 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Stone Polisher/Cutter | ||
| 2025-02-07 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Stone Polisher/Cutter | ||
| 2023-11-17 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Stone Polisher/Cutter | ||
| 2023-11-17 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Stone Polisher/Cutter | ||
| 2023-08-04 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Stone Polisher/Cutter | ||
| 2023-08-04 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Front-end Loader Operator | ||
| 2022-02-16 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.15 | 0.49 | 0.31 | Stone Polisher/Cutter |
| 2021-06-16 | Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz | 0.16 | Forklift Operator | ||
| 2021-06-16 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.16 | Stone Polisher/Cutter | ||
| 2020-09-22 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.2 | 0.44 | 0.45 | Stone Polisher/Cutter |
| 2020-09-22 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.18 | 0.37 | 0.49 | Stone Polisher/Cutter |
| 2018-12-12 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | Laborer, Bullgang | ||
| 2018-12-12 | Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz | 0.12 | 0.46 | 0.26 | Stone Polisher/Cutter |
| 2018-12-12 | Respirable dust, <.1mg | 0 | 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.
Ownership history
- Cook Stone Company LLC 2018 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
| Year | Employees |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 |
| 2025 | 5 |
| 2024 | 4 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2018 | 4 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Soak Creek sits in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, where the Census mining category is 1.2% 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.Bledsoe County, Tennessee · Population 14,905
1.2%
Mining share of county employment
$49,655
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 | 1,701 | 1 | 0 | 587.9 |
| 2026 Q1 | 920 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2025 Q4 | 1,883 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2025 Q3 | 2,656 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2025 Q2 | 1,080 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2025 Q1 | 480 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2024 Q4 | 2,038 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2024 Q3 | 549 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Show 24 earlier quarters Hide earlier quarters
| Quarter | Hours worked | Citations | S&S | Per 1M hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q2 | 1,107 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2024 Q1 | 523 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2023 Q4 | 1,141 | 6 | 5 | 5258.5 |
| 2023 Q3 | 1,784 | 6 | 5 | 3363.2 |
| 2023 Q2 | 1,341 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2023 Q1 | 724 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2022 Q4 | 1,159 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2022 Q3 | 1,188 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2022 Q2 | 1,323 | 2 | 0 | 1511.7 |
| 2022 Q1 | 900 | 3 | 2 | 3333.3 |
| 2021 Q4 | 2,007 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2021 Q3 | 2,322 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2021 Q2 | 2,103 | 1 | 1 | 475.5 |
| 2021 Q1 | 586 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2020 Q4 | 1,198 | 1 | 0 | 834.7 |
| 2020 Q3 | 684 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2020 Q2 | 811 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2020 Q1 | 1,197 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2019 Q4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 Q3 | 549 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2019 Q2 | 702 | 2 | 0 | 2849.0 |
| 2019 Q1 | 418 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2018 Q4 | 412 | 3 | 0 | 7281.6 |
| 2018 Q3 | 1,252 | 3 | 1 | 2396.2 |
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.