Mining Incidents

Wheatland Train Loadout: 20 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Felson Bowman
Wheatland, Knox County, IN  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1202208

Wheatland Train Loadout has $9K 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
1
Years on record
1998
Latest incident
Dec 1998
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
20
citations
6
significant & substantial
$8,778
proposed penalties
$5,228
paid to date
60% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $3,550 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
30
inspections on record
275
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: 275 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Wheatland Train Loadout has $9K 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.
$9K
proposed penalties
$5K
current assessed
$5K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
20 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $7K in penalties contested before the Commission, $4K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2008-08-05.
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.
30.0%
significant & substantial
5.0%
high negligence or reckless
30.0%
reasonably likely or greater
20.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 5.0% low, 90.0% moderate, 5.0% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
50%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$7K proposed, $4K 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 2008-01-02.
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 2008-124 Settlement Manning 2008 $7K → $4K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Wheatland Train Loadout shows 100% of 7 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: 2009-09-17, 16 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
7
samples
0.25
dust max (mg/m3)
7 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • UTILITY MAN3
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • LABORER/BLACKSMITH1

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: 2009-09-17, 16 years ago
0%
over PEL
6
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • UTILITY MAN3
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • MECHANIC1
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
2009 100% 3
2008 100% 1
2005 100% 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2009 0% 2
2008 0% 1
2005 0% 3
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Solar Sources Underground L L C 1997 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2010 0
2009 5
2008 4
2007 4
2006 4
2005 3
2004 3
2003 3
2002 3
2001 3
2000 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Wheatland Train Loadout sits in Knox County, Indiana, where the Census mining category is 2.0% 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.
Knox County, Indiana · Population 36,108
2.0%
Mining share of county employment
$58,863
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
2010 Q2 0 0 0
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2009 Q4 1,793 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 1,184 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 1,598 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 1,730 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 2,870 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 2,811 1 0 355.7
Show 34 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2008 Q2 2,791 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 2,860 2 0 699.3
2007 Q4 2,912 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 2,673 1 1 374.1
2007 Q2 2,720 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 2,691 5 1 1858.0
2006 Q4 2,503 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 2,519 4 0 1587.9
2006 Q2 2,322 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 2,261 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 1,925 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 2,141 1 0 467.1
2005 Q2 2,067 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 2,181 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 2,458 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 2,297 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 2,502 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 2,420 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 2,502 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 2,485 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 2,427 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 2,635 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 2,492 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 2,551 1 1 392.0
2002 Q2 2,287 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 2,425 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 2,612 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 1,941 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 2,120 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 2,377 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 1,959 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 1,977 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 1,711 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 1,609 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

1998 · 1 incident

December 3, 1998 IN · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Solar Sources Underground L L C · Fall from ladders

EE WAS WORKING OVERHEAD ON A LADDER, CHANGING BELTS ON FEEDER WHEN HE SLIPPED & STRAINED HIS RIGHT SHOULDER. HE HAS CONT' TO WORK RECEIVING CONSERTIVE MED TREATMENT ON 3/31/99 HE UNDERWENT SURGERY FOR SHOULDER REPAIR AND IS NOT MISSING FROM WORK,