Spring Branch #2: 116 MSHA citations
Coal
Premium,
Letcher County,
KY
·
Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1518287
Spring Branch #2 has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $9K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 4
- Years on record
- 2002
- Latest incident
- Apr 2002
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
63
significant & substantial
$11,658
proposed penalties
25% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $8,783 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
10.8
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.
116 citations across 1,075 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Spring Branch #2 has $12K in proposed MSHA penalties and $9K 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.
112 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2003-04-23.
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.
56.2%
significant & substantial
1.8%
high negligence or reckless
56.2%
reasonably likely or greater
16.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.9% low, 97.3% moderate, 1.8% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
MSHA sampling at Spring Branch #2 shows 84% of 19 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: 2002-12-27, 23 years ago
0 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 19 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR15
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Spring Branch #2 recorded 21.70 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2002.
Injury rate, 2002
ⓘ
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.
Above average. The US coal mining average was 6.89 and the all-US-mining average was 5.05 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 8.22 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.
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) |
| 2003 |
15 |
8,130 |
| 2002 |
22 |
83,771 |
| 2001 |
5 |
|
| 2000 |
12 |
1,803 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Spring Branch #2 sits in Letcher County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.5% 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.
Letcher County, Kentucky · Population 21,146
3.5%
Mining share of county employment
$40,501
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 |
| 2003 Q2 |
1,075 |
5 |
3 |
4651.2 |
| 2003 Q1 |
3,468 |
19 |
15 |
5478.7 |
| 2002 Q4 |
4,422 |
36 |
21 |
8141.1 |
| 2002 Q3 |
2,334 |
23 |
14 |
9854.3 |
| 2002 Q2 |
12,958 |
6 |
1 |
463.0 |
| 2002 Q1 |
17,155 |
16 |
5 |
932.7 |
| 2001 Q4 |
2,600 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
| 2000 Q4 |
2,130 |
4 |
1 |
1877.9 |
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
4 on file
2002 · 4 incidents
April 11, 2002
KY · Coal
roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)
MACHINERY
Cook & Sons Mining Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
EMPLOYEE WAS BOLTING TOP AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. HE WAS SWINGING BOOM TO PUT UP MIDDLE BOLT WHEN HE LET THE BOOM DOWN ON HIS LEFT KNEE.
January 26, 2002
KY · Coal
roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)
MACHINERY
Cook & Sons Mining Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object
WHILE PUSHING ON LEVER TO LOWER CANOPY HAD SLIPPED OFF AND STRIKING THE DRILL POT SLIDE LEVER RUNNING THE DRILL POT OUT MASHED THE FINGER OF HIS LEFT HAND THAT WAS RESTING ON THE DRILL POT.
Cook & Sons Mining Inc · Fall to the walkway or working surface
ROOF BOLTER STARTED CABLE REEL AND CABLE HIT RIGHT LEG CAUSING HIM TO FALL BUMPING HEAD BRUISING KNEE AND HEAD AND NECK.
January 8, 2002
KY · Coal
laborer, bull gang, faceman, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler
HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Cook & Sons Mining Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects
PULLING ON MINER CABLE FELT PAIN IN LOWER BACK.