Mining Incidents

Cedar Lake Mining, Inc: 1 recorded fatality operator

Controlled by Michael T Costello
MSHA operator ID: 0073585

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
20
Mines on record
6
Years on record
2009–2021
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2006
197
citations
53
significant & substantial
$165,340
proposed penalties
$67,262
paid to date
41% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $98,078 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2006
163
inspections on record
4,006
inspection hours
4.9
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.
197 citations across 4,006 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.
$165K
proposed penalties
$67K
current assessed
$67K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
192 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $132K in penalties contested before the Commission, $34K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2021-02-09.
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.
27.6%
significant & substantial
4.7%
high negligence or reckless
27.6%
reasonably likely or greater
13.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 30.7% low, 64.6% moderate, 4.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2021
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.
3.80
total case rate
3.80
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.35 and the all-US-mining average was 2.19 cases per 100 workers.
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.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2021 * 3.80 3.80 0.000
2020 1.69 1.69 0.000
2019 0.48 0.48 0.000
2018 0.44 0.44 0.438
2017 1.11 0.74 0.000
2016 1.16 1.16 0.000
2015 0.00 0.00 0.000
2014 0.00 0.00 0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
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: 2021-03-05, 5 years ago
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1,035
samples
2.54
dust max (mg/m3)
4
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.
503 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 532 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR446
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR415
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE98

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2021-02-22, 5 years ago
12.7
silica avg (%)
91
samples
29.3
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR58
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR31
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR2

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: 2021-02-10, 5 years ago
0%
over PEL
254
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR97
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR67
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE52
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.
10 citations taken to the federal commission · 5% of citations on record
  • Settled 10 · 100%
100%
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 8 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
74%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$132K proposed, $34K 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 2020-04-20. 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
SE 2019-0254 Settlement Miller 2020 $109K → $24K
SE 2019-0199 Settlement Miller 2020 $19K → $6K
SE 2008-280 Settlement Feldman 2008 $4K → $4K
SE 2008-281 Settlement Lesnick 2008 $276 → $276
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2021
1
2020
2
2019
2
2018
5 (1f)
2017
3
2016
3
2015
2
2011
1
2009
1

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

1 recorded
December 11, 2018 AL · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator Fatality · FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL
Cedar Lake Mining, Inc. · Struck by falling object

Victim was operating front-end loader in coal pit area, when a highwall failure occurred, covering the front-end loader completely.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Cedar Lake Mining, Inc 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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