American Rock Salt Company LLC: 1,768 MSHA citations operator
Controlled by
Joseph G Bucci
MSHA operator ID: L16134
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 245
- Mines on record
- 2
- Years on record
- 1999–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
1,768
citations
480
significant & substantial
$924,269
proposed penalties
$765,238
paid to date
83% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $159,031 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
344
inspections on record
22,915
inspection hours
7.7
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.1,768 citations across 22,915 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
ⓘ
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.$924K
proposed penalties
$773K
current assessed
$765K
paid to date
$7K
outstanding
1,577 assessments are final orders; 27 contested dockets.
Of $341K in penalties contested before the Commission, $156K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2024-05-01.
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.27.5%
significant & substantial
8.1%
high negligence or reckless
27.5%
reasonably likely or greater
60.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 17.1% low, 74.7% moderate, 8.1% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ
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.1.57
total case rate
1.31
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
About average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
| Year | total case rate | days-away | fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.63 | 1.58 | 0.000 |
| 2025 | 1.57 | 1.31 | 0.000 |
| 2024 | 1.19 | 0.89 | 0.000 |
| 2023 | 2.84 | 2.55 | 0.000 |
| 2022 | 2.58 | 1.55 | 0.000 |
| 2021 | 2.28 | 1.71 | 0.000 |
| 2020 | 0.65 | 0.32 | 0.000 |
| 2019 | 1.05 | 0.53 | 0.000 |
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.
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.Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
ⓘ
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.
Last sampled: 2026-04-22
ⓘ
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.24%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
318
samples
221
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Diesel particulate (total carbon)11442 over
- Total Carbon,calculated from elemental carbon.407 over
- Total Carbon,TC407 over
- TC as EC @ 350183 over
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2026-04-2218
samples
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), 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.
45
citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
- Settled 44 · 98%
- Stood as issued 1 · 2%
80%
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 40 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
49%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$308K proposed, $156K 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 2024-06-24. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
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 operator contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
| Docket | Decision | Judge | Year | Proposed / upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YORK 2011-63M | Settlement | Koutras | 2012 | $52K → $4K |
| YORK 2021-0040 | Settlement | 2021 | $40K → $17K | |
| YORK 2024-0060 | Settlement | Bulluck | 2025 | $38K → $10K |
| YORK 2010-151M | Settlement | McCarthy | 2012 | $36K → $26K |
| YORK 2022-0048 | Settlement | Young | 2023 | $27K → $13K |
| YORK 2024-0040 | Settlement | Bulluck | 2025 | $23K → $11K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 73 non-fatal
- HOISTING 42 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 39 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 28 non-fatal
- POWERED HAULAGE 18 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 16 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2026
9
2025
6
2024
5
2023
11
2022
11
2021
10
2020
2
2019
5
2018
7
2017
4
2016
3
2015
6
2014
7
2013
7
2012
11
2011
14
2010
11
2009
11
2008
21
2007
19
2006
12
2005
10
2004
11
2003
7
2002
3
2001
9
2000
5
1999
8
Mines on record
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where American Rock Salt Company LLC stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate
MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.
The federal record itself stays free on this site. What costs money, and why.