Mining Incidents

Tralee Mine No. 1: 121 MSHA citations Coal

Lo Down Energy, Inc. · Underground
Controlled by Philip T Lambert
Itmann, Wyoming County, WV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4609282

Tralee Mine No. 1 has $22K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3 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
2011
Latest incident
Jun 2011
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2010
121
citations
25
significant & substantial
$22,316
proposed penalties
$22,313
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $3 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
25
inspections on record
769
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: 769 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Tralee Mine No. 1 has $22K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3 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.
$22K
proposed penalties
$22K
current assessed
$22K
paid to date
$3
outstanding
120 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-04-16.
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.
20.8%
significant & substantial
5.0%
high negligence or reckless
20.8%
reasonably likely or greater
20.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.8% none, 34.2% low, 60.0% moderate, 5.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Tralee Mine No. 1 shows 91% of 80 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: 2012-03-14, 14 years ago
91%
within 1.5 mg/m3
80
samples
12.85
dust max (mg/m3)
44 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 36 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR43
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (OFF STANDARD)7
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)7

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2012-03-23, 14 years ago
9.2
silica avg (%)
4
samples
13.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR4

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: 2011-01-06, 15 years ago
0%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)4
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (OFF STANDARD)2
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
2012 90% 10
2011 87% 46
2010 100% 24
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2012 7.6 1
2011 4.8 1
2010 12.2 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2011 0% 5
2010 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Tralee Mine No. 1 recorded 6.64 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2011.

Injury rate, 2011
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.
6.64
total case rate
6.64
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.83 and the all-US-mining average was 3.08 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 4.45 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. Riverside Energy Company, LLC 2008 to 2009
  2. Lo Down Energy, Inc. 2009 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)
2016 0
2014 0
2013 0
2012 4 7,406
2011 18 70,363
2010 11 31,861
2009 0
2008 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Tralee Mine No. 1 sits in Wyoming County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 11.2% 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.
Wyoming County, West Virginia · Population 20,948
11.2%
Mining share of county employment
$48,038
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
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 0 0 0
2014 Q3 0 0 0
2014 Q2 0 0 0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 0 0 0
2013 Q3 0 0 0
2013 Q2 0 0 0
Show 17 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 0 0 0
2012 Q3 0 0 0
2012 Q2 0 1 0
2012 Q1 7,296 16 1 2193.0
2011 Q4 6,895 43 10 6236.4
2011 Q3 7,121 10 4 1404.3
2011 Q2 8,628 12 2 1390.8
2011 Q1 7,491 13 3 1735.4
2010 Q4 6,864 12 1 1748.3
2010 Q3 4,000 11 4 2750.0
2009 Q4 0 0 0
2009 Q3 0 0 0
2009 Q2 0 0 0
2009 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q4 0 0 0
2008 Q3 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2011 · 1 incident

June 15, 2011 WV · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler POWERED HAULAGE
Lo Down Energy, Inc. · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Operator was tramming scoop to out side made turn off and slid down on rubber stop and mashed hand (left) between rubber stop and frame of scoop.