Bluff Spur Coal Corporation: 1,200 MSHA citations operator
Controlled by
Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.
MSHA operator ID: P24353
Watch this operator
Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any Bluff Spur Coal Corporation mine.
- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 115
- Mines on record
- 2
- Years on record
- 2001–2012
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
1,200
citations
452
significant & substantial
$455,573
proposed penalties
$363,467
paid to date
80% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $92,106 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
403
inspections on record
14,430
inspection hours
8.3
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.1,200 citations across 14,430 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.$456K
proposed penalties
$363K
current assessed
$363K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
1,171 assessments are final orders; 78 contested dockets.
Of $324K in penalties contested before the Commission, $242K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-12-04.
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.38.4%
significant & substantial
0.1%
high negligence or reckless
38.7%
reasonably likely or greater
7.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 20.0% low, 79.9% moderate, 0.1% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2012
ⓘ
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
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.74 and the all-US-mining average was 2.96 cases per 100 workers.
| Year | total case rate | days-away | fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2011 | 1.46 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2010 | 2.93 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2009 | 13.80 | 5.52 | 0.000 |
| 2008 | 7.99 | 2.66 | 0.000 |
| 2007 | 7.30 | 4.87 | 0.000 |
| 2006 | 10.12 | 4.50 | 0.000 |
| 2005 | 16.96 | 13.32 | 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.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: 2012-11-07, 13 years ago
ⓘ
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.96%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1,790
samples
16.00
dust max (mg/m3)
692 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1,098 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR759
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)177
- SCOOP CAR OPERATOR96
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2012-11-08, 13 years ago9.4
silica avg (%)
208
samples
26.7
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR58
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: 2011-10-31, 14 years ago
ⓘ
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.20%
over PEL
128
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)32
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR24
- SCOOP CAR OPERATOR20
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, 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.
380
citations taken to the federal commission · 32% of citations on record
- Settled 372 · 98%
- Stood as issued 8 · 2%
92%
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 251 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
25%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$323K proposed, $242K 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 2013-02-19. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VA 2008-14 | Settlement | Zielinski | 2008 | $29K → $22K |
| VA 2011-242 | Settlement | Tureck | 2011 | $22K → $13K |
| VA 2012-13 | Dismissal | Lesnick | 2012 | $20K → $20K |
| VA 2009-64 | Settlement | Lesnick | 2009 | $16K → $11K |
| VA 2008-15 | Settlement | Zielinski | 2008 | $14K → $7K |
| VA 2008-319 | Settlement | Lesnick | 2009 | $12K → $9K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 33 non-fatal
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 33 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 15 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 12 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 7 non-fatal
- POWERED HAULAGE 6 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2012
1
2011
3
2010
2
2009
21
2008
12
2007
10
2006
12
2005
17
2004
6
2003
14
2002
13
2001
4
Mines on record
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Bluff Spur Coal Corporation 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.