Mining Incidents

Triplett Branch: 188 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by M Lynn Parrish
Lackey, Knott County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1518262

Triplett Branch has $23K in proposed MSHA penalties and $20K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2000–2001
Latest incident
Sep 2001
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
188
citations
65
significant & substantial
$23,115
proposed penalties
$2,962
paid to date
13% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $20,153 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
49
inspections on record
1,531
inspection hours
12.3
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.
188 citations across 1,531 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Triplett Branch has $23K in proposed MSHA penalties and $20K 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.
$23K
proposed penalties
$23K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$20K
outstanding
186 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2002-08-14.
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.
34.9%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
34.9%
reasonably likely or greater
10.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 1.1% low, 98.9% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Triplett Branch shows 90% of 258 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: 2002-10-23, 23 years ago
90%
within 1.5 mg/m3
258
samples
4.10
dust max (mg/m3)
153 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 105 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR82
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR39
  • COAL DRILL OPERATOR18

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2002-10-30, 23 years ago
3.3
silica avg (%)
24
samples
7.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR11

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: 2002-05-20, 24 years ago
0%
over PEL
17
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR4
  • COAL DRILL OPERATOR3
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR3
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
2002 89% 82
2001 90% 107
2000 91% 69
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2002 3.1 7
2001 3.7 8
2000 3.1 9
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2002 0% 6
2001 0% 6
2000 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Triplett Branch recorded 4.72 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2001.

Injury rate, 2001
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.
4.72
total case rate
4.72
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 6.94 and the all-US-mining average was 5.26 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 7.69 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. Eagle Ridge Mining Inc 2000 to 2002
  2. Knott Floyd Land Co., Inc. 2002 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)
2002 23 46,191
2001 27 106,269
2000 20 74,746
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Triplett Branch sits in Knott County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 2.8% 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.
Knott County, Kentucky · Population 14,046
2.8%
Mining share of county employment
$37,736
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
2002 Q2 7,758 31 12 3995.9
2002 Q1 8,309 17 6 2046.0
2001 Q4 9,800 10 1 1020.4
2001 Q3 9,928 15 10 1510.9
2001 Q2 11,521 41 17 3558.7
2001 Q1 11,134 28 6 2514.8
2000 Q4 12,486 30 5 2402.7
2000 Q3 9,988 8 3 801.0
Show 1 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2000 Q2 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2001 · 1 incident

September 18, 2001 KY · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) POWERED HAULAGE
Eagle Ridge Mining Inc · Struck by powered moving object

MINER WAS SITTING ON RIB AT SEAL INSTALLATION SITE, WHEN SCOOP APPROACHED WITH SUPPLIES. SCOOP WENT FORWARD FURTHER THAN OPERATOR OR VICTIM (MINER) ANTICIPATED, AS SCOOP BUCKET CAME IN CONTACT WITH VICTIM'S LOWER LEG, CAUSING FRACTURES TO THE LOWER LEG.

2000 · 1 incident

August 8, 2000 KY · Coal scoop car/scooptram operator, load/haul/dump (lhd) operator, teletram operator POWERED HAULAGE
Eagle Ridge Mining Inc · Struck against stationary object

EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING A SCOOP ON THE SECTION. HE RAN OVER A ROCK OR LUMP OF COAL THROWING HIM AGAINST THE ROOF RESULTING IN A HEAD INJURY.