Mining Incidents

WASH PLANT: 61 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Northern Sand & Gravel · Surface
Controlled by Allan Lee VanSloten
Sault Ste. Marie, Chippewa County, MI  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 2001067

WASH PLANT has $9K in proposed MSHA penalties and $467 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
61
citations
12
significant & substantial
$9,042
proposed penalties
$8,487
paid to date
94% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $555 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
39
inspections on record
393
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: 393 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

WASH PLANT has $9K in proposed MSHA penalties and $467 outstanding across 1 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.
$9K
proposed penalties
$9K
current assessed
$8K
paid to date
$467
outstanding
58 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $440 in penalties contested before the Commission, $352 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-23.
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.
19.7%
significant & substantial
3.3%
high negligence or reckless
19.7%
reasonably likely or greater
52.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.9% low, 91.8% moderate, 3.3% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Contested penalties
A reduction or dismissal at the Commission is a lawful outcome of contesting a proposed penalty. Figures are the proposed amount and the amount upheld in the docket's decision.
Largest penalties this mine contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
LAKE 2004-75-M Settlement Lesnick 2004 $440 → $352
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2023-10-24
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
3
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg2
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (3)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2023-10-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Washer Operator
2021-04-22 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Washer Operator
2010-05-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.26 0.58 0.45 Washer Operator
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Soo Gravel & Asphalt Company 1950 to 1988
  2. Northern Sand & Gravel 1988 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 2
2025 2
2024 2
2023 2
2022 2
2021 2
2020 2
2019 2
2018 2
2017 2
2016 2
2015 2
2014 2
2013 3
2012 2
2011 2
2010 1
2009 1
2008 2
2007 2
2006 2
2005 2
2004 1
2003 2
2002 2
2001 2
2000 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

WASH PLANT sits in Chippewa County, Michigan, where the Census mining category is 0.4% 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.
Chippewa County, Michigan · Population 36,448
0.4%
Mining share of county employment
$60,631
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
2026 Q2 456 3 3 6578.9
2025 Q4 323 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 698 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 435 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 340 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 697 0 0 0.0
2024 Q2 326 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 661 1 0 1512.9
Show 94 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2023 Q3 751 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 617 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 1 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 346 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 685 1 0 1459.9
2022 Q2 485 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 780 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 1,131 3 0 2652.5
2021 Q3 1,851 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 1,276 6 0 4702.2
2021 Q1 780 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 1,420 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 1,448 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 1,404 5 0 3561.3
2020 Q1 650 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 1,159 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 1,603 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 1,126 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 480 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 1,164 1 0 859.1
2018 Q3 1,373 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 967 2 0 2068.3
2018 Q1 520 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 752 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,274 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 1,093 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 520 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 1,156 1 0 865.1
2016 Q3 1,344 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,150 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 520 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 859 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 1,175 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 871 2 0 2296.2
2015 Q1 41 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 628 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 1,005 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 640 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 40 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 480 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 648 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 122 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 484 1 0 2066.1
2012 Q3 500 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 330 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 42 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 360 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 962 2 0 2079.0
2011 Q2 575 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 20 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 301 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 540 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 540 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 40 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 120 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 480 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 482 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q4 210 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 648 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 378 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 45 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 237 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 507 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 465 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 125 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 195 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 546 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 325 4 0 12307.7
2006 Q1 120 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 165 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 482 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 480 3 0 6250.0
2005 Q1 150 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 175 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 483 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 558 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 120 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 200 1 0 5000.0
2003 Q3 485 4 1 8247.4
2003 Q2 416 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 360 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 240 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 540 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 480 1 1 2083.3
2002 Q1 180 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 252 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 420 14 5 33333.3
2001 Q2 480 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 360 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 246 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 542 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 1,280 6 2 4687.5
2000 Q1 920 0 0 0.0

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.