Mining Incidents

Whisky Creek No 1 Mine: 18 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Iracoal Incorporated
Helper, Carbon County, UT  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4202315

Whisky Creek No 1 Mine has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $1K outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2003
Latest incident
Feb 2003
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
18
citations
14
significant & substantial
$1,623
proposed penalties
$541
paid to date
33% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,082 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2002
11
inspections on record
361
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: 361 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Whisky Creek No 1 Mine has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $1K 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.
$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$541
paid to date
$1K
outstanding
18 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2003-02-10.
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.
77.8%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
77.8%
reasonably likely or greater
5.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 100.0% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Whisky Creek No 1 Mine shows 100% of 13 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: 2002-11-05, 23 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
13
samples
0.99
dust max (mg/m3)
13 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
  • SCOOP OPERATOR2
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR1

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2002-12-30, 23 years ago
16.4
silica avg (%)
5
samples
22.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5

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: 2002-11-13, 23 years ago
0%
over PEL
10
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2
  • MECHANIC2
  • SCOOP OPERATOR2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Whisky Creek No 1 Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2002.

Injury rate, 2002
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 6.89 and the all-US-mining average was 5.05 cases per 100 workers.
In Utah, coal mining averaged 3.18 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.
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. Lodestar Energy Incorporated 2001 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)
2003 22 25,083
2002 20 267,517
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Whisky Creek No 1 Mine sits in Carbon County, Utah, where the Census mining category is 5.9% 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.
Carbon County, Utah · Population 20,446
5.9%
Mining share of county employment
$53,673
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
2003 Q1 7,474 2 2 267.6
2002 Q4 10,844 2 0 184.4
2002 Q3 17,886 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 14,633 1 1 68.3
2002 Q1 10,560 5 4 473.5
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2003 · 1 incident

February 11, 2003 UT · Coal truck driver HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Lodestar Energy Incorporated · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

THE INJURED EMPLOYEE WAS HELPING THE MECHANIC REMOVE BOLTS FROM THE BULLDOZER. A IMPACT GUN WAS USED UNSUCCESFULLY. A BREAKER BAR WAS THEN USED. THE SOCKET ON THE BREAKER BAR BROKE AND THE BRE AKER BAR HIT THE EE IN THE MOUTH, BREAKING HIS TOOTH.