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Westbourne Lane Mine: 28 MSHA citations Coal

Alden Resources LLC · Surface
Controlled by Ferroglobe PLC
Jellico, Campbell County, TN  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4003337

Westbourne Lane Mine has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2012
Latest incident
Jan 2012
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2010
28
citations
8
significant & substantial
$10,183
proposed penalties
$5,283
paid to date
52% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $4,900 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Alden Resources LLC's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2010
10
inspections on record
371
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: 371 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Westbourne Lane Mine has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 3 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.
$10K
proposed penalties
$5K
current assessed
$5K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
26 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $6K in penalties contested before the Commission, $770 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-01-28.
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.
30.8%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
30.8%
reasonably likely or greater
15.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 7.7% low, 92.3% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
When citations were contested
ⓘ Contesting a citation before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is a lawful right. These figures state the public outcomes of that process, from MSHA's Contested Violations file.
5 citations taken to the federal commission · 18% of citations on record
  • Settled 3 · 60%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 20%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 20%
67%
S&S designation survived the contest
ⓘ Counts a Significant & Substantial citation as surviving when a settlement or judge's decision kept the designation, or the contest was dismissed or defaulted so the citation stands as issued. Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.
of 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
87%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$6K proposed, $770 after decisions · industry: 39%
Source: MSHA Contested Violations file (public record), updated weekly. A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record. Latest contest filed 2011-06-04.
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
SE 2010-1009 Settlement Feldman 2012 $5K → $100
SE 2011-572 Settlement Zielinski 2012 $855 → $570
SE 2011-241 Dismissal Feldman 2012 $100 → $100
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Westbourne Lane Mine shows 100% of 35 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: 2012-01-28, 14 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
35
samples
1.33
dust max (mg/m3)
30 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 5 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR13
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE10
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2011-06-24, 15 years ago
12.8
silica avg (%)
3
samples
29.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2012-01-28, 14 years ago
4%
over PEL
26
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR9
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE7
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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 100% 6
2011 100% 24
2010 100% 5
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2011 15.8 2
2010 6.9 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2012 0% 5
2011 6% 16
2010 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Westbourne Lane Mine recorded 0.00 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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.83 and the all-US-mining average was 3.08 cases per 100 workers.
In Tennessee, coal mining averaged 4.18 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.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2011 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2010 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
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. Alden Resources LLC 2008 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)
2012 9 12,910
2011 35 158,308
2010 27 93,589
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Westbourne Lane Mine sits in Campbell County, Tennessee, where the Census mining category is 0.6% 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.
Campbell County, Tennessee · Population 39,568
0.6%
Mining share of county employment
$50,260
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
2012 Q2 0 0 0
2012 Q1 6,529 4 1 612.7
2011 Q4 19,542 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 23,628 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 23,858 7 2 293.4
2011 Q1 26,086 5 2 191.7
2010 Q4 20,308 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 23,006 0 0 0.0
Show 2 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2010 Q2 17,983 10 2 556.1
2010 Q1 6,994 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2012 · 1 incident

January 17, 2012 TN · Coal rotary bucket excavator operator MACHINERY
Alden Resources LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Lifting stump end of a tree. The tree rolled, the root ball striking the excavator. The tree tore out the window frame striking the operator.