Mining Incidents

Wolverine Loadout (T-4): 117 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Jeffery A Hoops
Jackson, Breathitt County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1510865

Wolverine Loadout (T-4) has $28K in proposed MSHA penalties and $7K outstanding across 6 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
5
Years on record
1983–1993
Latest incident
Aug 1993
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2010
117
citations
49
significant & substantial
$27,596
proposed penalties
$18,657
paid to date
68% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $8,939 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
42
inspections on record
1,070
inspection hours
10.9
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.
117 citations across 1,070 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
A Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2010-08-31.
On record since 2010.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.

Wolverine Loadout (T-4) has $28K in proposed MSHA penalties and $7K outstanding across 6 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.
$28K
proposed penalties
$25K
current assessed
$19K
paid to date
$7K
outstanding
116 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $9K in penalties contested before the Commission, $7K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-06-25.
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.
42.2%
significant & substantial
6.9%
high negligence or reckless
42.2%
reasonably likely or greater
9.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 5.2% low, 87.9% moderate, 6.9% 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.
14 citations taken to the federal commission · 12% of citations on record
  • Settled 12 · 86%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 2 · 14%
60%
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 10 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
27%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$9K proposed, $7K 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 2014-05-28.
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 2013-681 Settlement Paez 2013 $3K → $2K
KENT 2014-0530 Settlement Gill 2015 $3K → $2K
KENT 2012-567 Settlement Lesnick 2012 $3K → $2K
KENT 2012-97 Settlement McCarthy 2013 $460 → $350
KENT 2010-1077 Withdrawal Feldman 2012 $100 → $0
KENT 2011-239 Withdrawal Pope II 2011 $100 → $0
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Wolverine Loadout (T-4) shows 100% of 51 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: 2015-06-29, 11 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
51
samples
0.35
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.
48 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 3 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR10
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER9
  • ELECTRICIAN8

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: 2015-06-29, 11 years ago
0%
over PEL
36
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • ELECTRICIAN7
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER6
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR4
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
2015 100% 5
2014 100% 13
2013 100% 8
2012 100% 5
2011 100% 16
2010 100% 4
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2015 0% 3
2014 0% 8
2013 0% 8
2011 0% 13
2010 0% 4
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Wolverine Loadout (T-4) 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 Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.28 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. Interstate Coal Company Inc 1978 to 1982
  2. Falcon Coal Company Inc 1982 to 1987
  3. Cumberland River Coal Company 1987 to 2009
  4. Revelation Energy, LLC 2009 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2019 0
2018 0
2017 0
2016 1
2015 3
2014 5
2013 4
2012 5
2011 7
2010 3
2009 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Wolverine Loadout (T-4) sits in Breathitt County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 2.3% 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.
Breathitt County, Kentucky · Population 13,438
2.3%
Mining share of county employment
$41,101
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
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q3 0 0 0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 0 0 0
2017 Q3 0 0 0
2017 Q2 0 0 0
Show 30 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 780 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2016 Q1 520 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 520 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 1,914 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 2,161 7 2 3239.2
2015 Q1 1,552 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 4,423 2 0 452.2
2014 Q3 4,553 5 1 1098.2
2014 Q2 3,591 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 2,721 6 0 2205.1
2013 Q4 2,695 1 0 371.1
2013 Q3 3,022 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 2,177 6 2 2756.1
2013 Q1 3,087 11 5 3563.3
2012 Q4 2,788 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 3,021 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 3,793 1 0 263.6
2012 Q1 4,917 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 5,355 2 0 373.5
2011 Q3 5,671 2 0 352.7
2011 Q2 5,511 2 0 362.9
2011 Q1 5,206 2 0 384.2
2010 Q4 4,478 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 3,831 24 18 6264.7
2010 Q2 112 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 0 8 5
2009 Q4 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

5 on file

1993 · 1 incident

August 25, 1993 KY · Coal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator POWERED HAULAGE
Cumberland River Coal Company · Struck against a moving object

EMPLOYEE WAS GRADING ROAD WITH LOADER ON UPHILL GRADE; LOADER STALLED. THE LOADER ROLLED BACKWARD DOWN THE ROAD AND OVER A 20 FOOT HIGHWALL. EMPLOYEE WAS WEARING SEAT BELT; AND WHEN LOADER CAM E OT A STOP THE SEAT BELT CASED BRUISING AND HERNIA TO THE LOWER ABDOMINAL.

1987 · 1 incident

August 5, 1987 KY · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Cumberland River Coal Company · Fall onto or against objects

EMPLOYEE WAS CL9ANING UP AROUND CRUSHER WHILE DOING SO EMPLOYEE FELL INTO A CLEAN OUT DOOR OPENING INJURING HIS LEG.

1986 · 1 incident

August 20, 1986 KY · Coal welder (shop) HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Falcon Coal Company Inc · Fall to the walkway or working surface

EMPLOYEE WAS US3NG A RATCHET TO TIGHTEN BOLTS ON A MOTOR THE RATCHET SLIPPED AND CAUSED EMPLOYEE TO FALL BACKWARDS ONTO HIS ARM

1983 · 2 incidents

December 14, 1983 KY · Coal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Falcon Coal Company Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects

EMPLOYEE WAS PICKING UP SHEET METAL. WHILE PICKING UP METAL, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCED LOW BACK PAIN.

January 25, 1983 KY · Coal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider OTHER
Falcon Coal Company Inc · Struck by flying object

USING SHOVEL TO CLEAN LOOSE COAL FROM AROUND BELT LINES.WIND BLEW COAL PARTICLES INTO LEFT EYE.