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Wolf Pen #1: 61 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Thomas R Hamilton
Kay Jay, Knox County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519203

Wolf Pen #1 has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $888 outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2008–2009
Latest incident
May 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
61
citations
22
significant & substantial
$9,839
proposed penalties
$8,691
paid to date
88% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,148 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
12
inspections on record
254
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: 254 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Wolf Pen #1 has $10K in proposed MSHA penalties and $888 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
$10K
current assessed
$9K
paid to date
$888
outstanding
60 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $2K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2009-09-28.
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.
36.7%
significant & substantial
3.3%
high negligence or reckless
35.0%
reasonably likely or greater
1.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 10.0% low, 86.7% moderate, 3.3% 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.
22 citations taken to the federal commission · 36% of citations on record
  • Settled 21 · 95%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 5%
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%
14%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$2K proposed, $2K 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 2009-12-15.
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
KENT 2009-270 Settlement Lesnick 2010 $2K → $1K
KENT 2010-349 Settlement Lesnick 2010 $624 → $624
KENT 2009-269 Settlement Lesnick 2010 $108 → $100
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Wolf Pen #1 shows 100% of 23 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: 2009-09-28, 16 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
23
samples
1.28
dust max (mg/m3)
22 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR7
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR7
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE5

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: 2009-09-18, 16 years ago
0%
over PEL
14
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE4
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
2009 100% 17
2008 100% 6
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2009 0% 9
2008 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Wolf Pen #1 recorded 2.35 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2009.

Injury rate, 2009
ⓘ 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.
2.35
total case rate
2.35
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 4.16 and the all-US-mining average was 3.36 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 5.04 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. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc. 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)
2009 31 292,362
2008 35 204,906
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Wolf Pen #1 sits in Knox County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 2.8% 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, Kentucky · Population 30,034
2.8%
Mining share of county employment
$33,153
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
2009 Q4 0 0 0
2009 Q3 27,545 12 4 435.7
2009 Q2 29,784 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 27,760 3 0 108.1
2008 Q4 27,746 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 26,458 19 4 718.1
2008 Q2 4,475 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2009 · 1 incident

2008 · 1 incident

May 28, 2008 KY · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver MACHINERY
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc. · Struck against a moving object

Employee was loading a backhoe onto a trailer, the backhoe slid off the side and overturned. The employee continued to work until 06/26/2008, on this date the doctor took him off work to have surgey on his shoulder.