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

South Fork Coal

Pound, Wise County, VA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4407232

South Fork has $32K in proposed MSHA penalties and $7K outstanding across 10 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at South Fork.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
6
Years on record
2011–2012
Latest incident
Jul 2012
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2009
36
citations
12
significant & substantial
$32,025
proposed penalties
$18,219
paid to date
57% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $13,806 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2009
11
inspections on record
412
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: 412 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

South Fork has $32K in proposed MSHA penalties and $7K outstanding across 10 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.
$32K
proposed penalties
$25K
current assessed
$18K
paid to date
$7K
outstanding
36 assessments are final orders; 10 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-10-15.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
See also the operator's enforcement record

MSHA sampling at South Fork shows respirable coal dust averaging 0.10 mg/m3 (100% compliant) across 29 samples.

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.
0.10
dust avg (mg/m3)
0.52
dust max (mg/m3)
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
29
samples
Most recent sample: 2012-05-21.
Silica (quartz)
31.9
silica avg (%)
42.0
silica max (%)
3
samples
Most recent sample: 2012-05-30.
Noise
7%
over PEL
15
samples
Most recent sample: 2011-11-03.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
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
2013 Q3 0 0 0
2013 Q2 0 0 0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 5,835 1 0 171.4
2012 Q3 30,147 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 31,121 16 7 514.1
2012 Q1 32,185 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 30,028 8 3 266.4
Show 8 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2011 Q3 31,179 6 2 192.4
2011 Q2 30,474 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 26,430 3 0 113.5
2010 Q4 18,067 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 19,257 1 0 51.9
2010 Q2 11,354 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 567 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 0 1 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

6 on file

2012 · 4 incidents

July 28, 2012 VA · Coal outside foreman, leadman OTHER
Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC · (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee said he was having chest pains on 7/28/2012. Employee did not go to the doctor until 7/31/2012 and was given a stress test on 8/2/2012. This is when he found out he had a heart attack.

July 27, 2012 VA · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Removing drive belts from 777 road truck using a razor knife. Knife slipped and cut ee's left forearm requiring stitches.

April 20, 2012 VA · Coal drill operator DUST DISEASE OF LUNGS
Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC · Inhalation of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

Received a CWP diagnosis for Leonard Boggs on 4/20/2012.

January 11, 2012 VA · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman DUST DISEASE OF LUNGS
Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC · Inhalation of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

Received a CWP diagnosis for EE on 1/11/2011.

2011 · 2 incidents

October 30, 2011 VA · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC · Fall to the walkway or working surface

Employee had just finished moving an excavator out of the haul road. He was walking back to his dozer when he stepped in a hole. As a result he twisted his left ankle and fell.

April 12, 2011 VA · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Paramont Coal Company Virginia, LLC · Fall to the walkway or working surface

The employee slipped on muddy ground while marking drill holes. Resulting in the employee falling and injuring his neck and both shoulders.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

The full compliance file on South Fork

A dated report covering the 26-year penalty trail, line-item violation pattern, contest and docket posture, rate-normalized peer benchmark, and full fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.

Get the report ($149) See a sample report Monitor a whole book of operators, $99/mo