Mining Incidents

Wharton No 1 Tunnel: 57 MSHA citations Coal

Rockwell Mining LLC · Underground
Wharton, Boone County, WV  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 4605071

Wharton No 1 Tunnel has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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 2001
57
citations
11
significant & substantial
$7,331
proposed penalties
$7,203
paid to date
98% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $128 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
100
inspections on record
1,889
inspection hours
3.0
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.
57 citations across 1,889 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Wharton No 1 Tunnel has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$7K
proposed penalties
$7K
current assessed
$7K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
56 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $352 in penalties contested before the Commission, $224 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-01-23.
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.
19.6%
significant & substantial
3.6%
high negligence or reckless
19.6%
reasonably likely or greater
14.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 12.5% low, 83.9% moderate, 3.6% 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.
2 citations taken to the federal commission · 4% of citations on record
  • Settled 2 · 100%
100%
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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
36%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$352 proposed, $224 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 2008-04-24.
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
WEVA 2008-956 Settlement Weisberger 2009 $352 → $224
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Wharton No 1 Tunnel shows 100% of 26 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: 2014-10-15, 11 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
26
samples
0.05
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.
8 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 18 by the operator.

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: 2006-02-11, 20 years ago
0%
over PEL
1
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • FIRE BOSS PRE-SHIFT EXAMINER1
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
2014 100% 4
2013 100% 14
2012 100% 8
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Eastern Associated Coal Corp 1976 to 1987
  2. Eastern Associated Coal Corp 1987 to 1998
  3. Eastern Associated Coal LLC 1998 to 2015
  4. Rockwell Mining LLC 2015 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2016 0
2015 1
2014 7
2013 1
2012 1
2011 1
2010 1
2009 1
2008 1
2007 1
2006 1
2005 1
2004 1
2003 1
2002 1
2001 3
2000 2
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Wharton No 1 Tunnel sits in Boone County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 10.1% 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.
Boone County, West Virginia · Population 21,312
10.1%
Mining share of county employment
$56,152
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 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 0 0 0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2015 Q4 0 0 0
2015 Q3 0 0 0
2015 Q2 237 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 569 3 0 5272.4
Show 60 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2014 Q4 4,100 2 0 487.8
2014 Q3 7,834 5 2 638.2
2014 Q2 456 3 2 6578.9
2014 Q1 464 2 0 4310.3
2013 Q4 400 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 480 3 0 6250.0
2013 Q2 408 2 0 4902.0
2013 Q1 336 1 0 2976.2
2012 Q4 280 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 352 2 0 5681.8
2012 Q2 488 3 1 6147.5
2012 Q1 512 2 0 3906.2
2011 Q4 496 2 0 4032.3
2011 Q3 536 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 528 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 600 1 1 1666.7
2010 Q4 376 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 360 1 0 2777.8
2010 Q2 544 1 0 1838.2
2010 Q1 568 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 560 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 536 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 464 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 592 3 0 5067.6
2008 Q4 576 5 1 8680.6
2008 Q3 520 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 568 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 576 5 2 8680.6
2007 Q4 528 1 0 1893.9
2007 Q3 552 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 488 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 528 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 504 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 480 1 0 2083.3
2006 Q2 592 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 592 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 560 1 0 1785.7
2005 Q3 552 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 552 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 592 3 0 5067.6
2004 Q4 468 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 544 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 584 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 608 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 560 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 512 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 352 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 592 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 568 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 504 1 0 1984.1
2002 Q2 600 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 600 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 416 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 568 1 0 1760.6
2001 Q2 568 2 1 3521.1
2001 Q1 608 1 1 1644.7
2000 Q4 584 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 576 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 600 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 616 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.