Toms Fork Mine: 1 recorded fatality
Coal
Calvin,
Bell County,
KY
·
Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1519844
Toms Fork Mine has $22K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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- Fatalities
- 1
- Total incidents
- 2
- Years on record
- 2019
- Latest incident
- Mar 2019
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2018
28
significant & substantial
$21,696
proposed penalties
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2018
5.5
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.
131 citations across 2,368 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Toms Fork Mine has $22K 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.
126 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2022-01-03.
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.
22.2%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
22.2%
reasonably likely or greater
9.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 7.1% low, 92.9% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
MSHA sampling at Toms Fork Mine shows 100% of 399 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: 2020-07-28, 6 years ago
80 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 319 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR146
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)119
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)35
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2020-08-11, 6 years ago
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR10
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)9
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)7
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: 2020-07-28, 6 years ago
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR10
- SECTION FOREMAN9
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)9
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 |
| 2020 |
100% |
123 |
| 2019 |
100% |
268 |
| 2018 |
100% |
8 |
Silica (quartz) by year
| Year |
silica avg (%) |
samples |
| 2020 |
5.4 |
8 |
| 2019 |
5.7 |
28 |
| 2018 |
5.7 |
4 |
Noise by year
| Year |
over PEL |
samples |
| 2020 |
0% |
14 |
| 2019 |
10% |
30 |
| 2018 |
20% |
5 |
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Toms Fork Mine recorded 2.57 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2019.
Injury rate, 2019
ⓘ
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.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.39 and the all-US-mining average was 2.32 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.10 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
-
TENNCO INC.
2018 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) |
| 2020 |
36 |
106,783 |
| 2019 |
29 |
97,672 |
| 2018 |
15 |
7,057 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Toms Fork Mine sits in Bell County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.6% 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.
Bell County, Kentucky · Population 23,878
3.6%
Mining share of county employment
$32,403
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 |
| 2020 Q3 |
23,276 |
13 |
2 |
558.5 |
| 2020 Q2 |
20,899 |
19 |
1 |
909.1 |
| 2020 Q1 |
18,794 |
19 |
1 |
1011.0 |
| 2019 Q4 |
22,027 |
17 |
3 |
771.8 |
| 2019 Q3 |
20,301 |
21 |
10 |
1034.4 |
| 2019 Q2 |
18,689 |
14 |
3 |
749.1 |
| 2019 Q1 |
16,887 |
12 |
2 |
710.6 |
| 2018 Q4 |
2,886 |
8 |
3 |
2772.0 |
Fatalities at this mine
1 recorded
January 14, 2019
KY · Coal
transit man, surveyor/transit worker
Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
TENNCO INC. · Struck by powered moving object
While the surveyor was setting up the instrument in #4 belt entry, the other surveyor was getting height measurements down #3 entry. A shuttle car loaded with coal coming from #2 entry tramming to the feeder struck and killed the surveyor near spad 24.
Reportable incidents
1 on file (excluding fatalities above)
2019 · 1 incident
March 28, 2019
KY · Coal
roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)
MACHINERY
TENNCO INC. · Caught in, under or between running or meshing objects
Glove caught in the spinning motion of the drill pot and twisted hand