Mining Incidents

CCU Coal and Construction LLC: 2 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by Charles C Ungurean
MSHA operator ID: 0161793

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Fatalities
2
Total incidents
35
Mines on record
7
Years on record
2019–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2019
386
citations
57
significant & substantial
$186,325
proposed penalties
$143,137
paid to date
77% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $43,189 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2019
316
inspections on record
9,413
inspection hours
4.1
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.
386 citations across 9,413 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.
$186K
proposed penalties
$156K
current assessed
$143K
paid to date
$13K
outstanding
358 assessments are final orders; 18 contested dockets.
Of $100K in penalties contested before the Commission, $69K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-03.
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.
14.9%
significant & substantial
8.6%
high negligence or reckless
14.9%
reasonably likely or greater
33.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.3% none, 60.1% low, 31.1% moderate, 8.6% 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.
1.50
total case rate
0.75
days-away rate
0.750
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2026 2.81 1.41 0.000
2025 1.50 0.75 0.750
2024 0.70 0.70 0.000
2023 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 1.33 0.00 0.000
2021 1.90 1.90 0.950
2020 0.70 0.00 0.000
2019 3.76 1.74 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: 2026-07-30
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1,213
samples
2.39
dust max (mg/m3)
2
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.
559 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 654 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR290
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR175
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR161

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2025-06-13
5.5
silica avg (%)
66
samples
27.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR19
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR17
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR11

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: 2026-06-02
0%
over PEL
336
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR77
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER77
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE39
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.
40 citations taken to the federal commission · 10% of citations on record
  • Settled 22 · 55%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 3%
  • Still open 17 · 43%
81%
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 16 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
30%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$99K proposed, $69K 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 2026-07-22. 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
LAKE 2022-0217 Settlement Moran 2023 $60K → $39K
LAKE 2020-0019 Settlement Rae 2019 $10K → $10K
LAKE 2026-0054 Settlement Simonton 2026 $8K → $7K
LAKE 2020-0049 Settlement Miller 2020 $4K → $2K
LAKE 2020-0249 Settlement Rae 2020 $3K → $2K
LAKE 2020-0169 Settlement Manning 2020 $3K → $1K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
2
2025
2 (1f)
2024
2
2023
2
2022
2
2021
4 (1f)
2020
2
2019
19

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

2 recorded
February 12, 2025 OH · Coal drill operator Fatality · MACHINERY
CCU Coal and Construction LLC · Struck against a moving object

Employee was operating a DM45 Highwall Drill on a drill bench. Employee was traveling parallel to the edge and the outside edge gave way. The drill slid off the bench and landed 25 feet below.

October 19, 2021 OH · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
CCU Coal and Construction LLC · Struck by falling object

Employee was working on removing a pin from a leveling cylinder on the back of the rock truck. While the employee was performing this work, the haul truck bed fell on top of the employee.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where CCU Coal and Construction 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.

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