Mining Incidents

Zerbe 10 Mine: 42 MSHA citations Coal

Fox Coal Company Inc. · Surface
Trevorton, Northumberland County, PA  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 3609231

Zerbe 10 Mine has $5K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K outstanding across 0 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 2008
42
citations
11
significant & substantial
$5,053
proposed penalties
$2,522
paid to date
50% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,531 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2005
39
inspections on record
1,091
inspection hours
3.9
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.
42 citations across 1,091 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Zerbe 10 Mine has $5K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K 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.
$5K
proposed penalties
$5K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$3K
outstanding
42 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-25.
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.
26.2%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
26.2%
reasonably likely or greater
16.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 57.1% low, 42.9% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Zerbe 10 Mine shows 97% of 60 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: 2026-03-25
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
60
samples
2.10
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.
51 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 9 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR22
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR19
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE13

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2018-11-21, 7 years ago
4.0
silica avg (%)
3
samples
5.4
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE1

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: 2026-03-25
0%
over PEL
43
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR18
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE13
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR8
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
2026 100% 2
2025 100% 3
2024 100% 4
2023 100% 4
2020 100% 3
2019 100% 5
2018 100% 10
2017 100% 3
2016 100% 4
2015 83% 6
2014 92% 12
2013 100% 2
2009 100% 1
2008 100% 1
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2018 5.4 1
2016 3.3 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2026 0% 2
2025 0% 2
2024 0% 4
2023 0% 4
2020 0% 1
2019 0% 2
2018 0% 9
2017 0% 3
2016 0% 3
2015 0% 4
2014 0% 6
2013 0% 2
2008 0% 1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Mid-Valley Coal Sales Inc. 2004 to 2007
  2. Fox Coal Company Inc. 2007 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)
2026 2 2,485
2025 2 5,548
2024 3 5,514
2023 5 13,079
2020 2 1,735
2019 2 2,613
2018 3
2017 3
2016 3
2015 2 719
2014 2 5,523
2013 2 3,788
2012 0
2010 2
2009 0
2008 0
2007 0
2004 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Zerbe 10 Mine sits in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 0.6% 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.
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania · Population 90,925
0.6%
Mining share of county employment
$57,948
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
2026 Q2 730 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 940 2 0 2127.7
2025 Q4 1,078 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 1,086 1 0 920.8
2025 Q2 1,113 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 780 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 880 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 1,012 0 0 0.0
Show 46 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 1,092 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 2,275 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 2,080 2 0 961.5
2023 Q3 2,080 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 2,340 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 0 0 0
2020 Q3 40 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 240 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 240 1 0 4166.7
2019 Q4 160 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 0 0 0
2019 Q2 160 2 0 12500.0
2019 Q1 210 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 210 2 0 9523.8
2018 Q3 210 1 0 4761.9
2018 Q2 210 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 210 1 0 4761.9
2017 Q4 210 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 210 2 0 9523.8
2017 Q2 210 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 210 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 210 3 1 14285.7
2016 Q3 210 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 210 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 140 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 0 0 0
2015 Q3 140 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 120 4 0 33333.3
2015 Q1 160 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 720 2 0 2777.8
2014 Q3 480 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 60 2 2 33333.3
2014 Q1 480 1 1 2083.3
2013 Q4 576 1 1 1736.1
2013 Q3 260 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 240 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 0 0 0
2010 Q2 938 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 0 0 0
2009 Q2 0 0 0
2009 Q1 0 1 0
2008 Q4 0 0 0
2008 Q2 0 0 0
2008 Q1 0 0 0
2007 Q4 0 0 0
2004 Q2 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.