Mining Incidents

Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg., LLC: 5 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by Heidelberg Materials AG
MSHA operator ID: L16897

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Fatalities
5
Total incidents
454
Mines on record
35
Years on record
1988–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
2,379
citations
447
significant & substantial
$750,425
proposed penalties
$682,700
paid to date
91% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $67,725 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
2,036
inspections on record
36,010
inspection hours
6.6
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.
2,379 citations across 36,010 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.
$750K
proposed penalties
$694K
current assessed
$682K
paid to date
$12K
outstanding
2,323 assessments are final orders; 100 contested dockets.
Of $332K in penalties contested before the Commission, $174K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-07-08.
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.
19.0%
significant & substantial
5.9%
high negligence or reckless
19.5%
reasonably likely or greater
52.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 11.4% low, 82.6% moderate, 5.9% 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.
1.58
total case rate
0.00
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 2.30 0.77 0.000
2025 1.58 0.00 0.000
2024 3.14 0.55 0.000
2023 0.96 0.58 0.000
2022 2.40 0.60 0.000
2021 0.65 0.00 0.000
2020 0.43 0.00 0.000
2019 1.85 0.82 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: 2026-07-23
7%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
1,112
samples
421
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz49730 over
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg535
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz57
  • Fibers, >5um12

Area samples (mill and shop air)

Last sampled: 2026-04-02
4
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.
188 citations taken to the federal commission · 8% of citations on record
  • Settled 154 · 82%
  • Stood as issued 32 · 17%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 2 · 1%
82%
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 85 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
24%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$229K proposed, $173K 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 2019-12-11. 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 2015-0254 Settlement McCarthy 2015 $140K → $70K
SE 2015-0047 Settlement McCarthy 2015 $30K → $7K
SE 2012-150M Settlement McCarthy 2014 $21K → $14K
SE 2013-503M Settlement Bulluck 2014 $19K → $16K
SE 2017-0137 Settlement Moran 2018 $13K → $4K
SE 2017-0175 Settlement Moran 2018 $12K → $4K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
7
2025
10
2024
19
2023
6
2022
12
2021
4
2020
5
2019
10
2018
8
2017
6
2016
6 (1f)
2015
7
2014
13 (1f)
2013
5
2012
4
2011
9
2010
18
2009
12
2008
15
2007
26
2006
25
2005
28
2004
20
2003
25 (1f)
2002
16
2001
2
2000
6
1999
4 (1f)
1998
8
1997
5
1996
5
1995
9 (1f)
1994
4
1993
12
1992
18
1991
29
1990
25
1989
9
1988
2

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

5 recorded
September 8, 2016 NC · Metal/Non-Metal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg LLC · Struck against a moving object

Employee was fatally injured when the haul truck employee was operating drove off the haul road and fell into the quarry pit below

June 18, 2014 SC · Metal/Non-Metal outside foreman, leadman Fatality · IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST
Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg., LLC · Struck by flying object

The employee was present while two contract workers were performing a repair on a centrifugal water pump. During the repair, an explosion occurred. Heat may have been applied during the repair. The employee suffered fatal injuries.

September 26, 2003 SC · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech Fatality · MACHINERY
Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg., LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

TIRE SERVICE TECH WAS POSITIONING A 50 TON DUMP TRUCK TIRE WHEN THE TIRE FELL FROM THE BOOM CLAMP TRAPPING TECH BETWEEN TIRE AND BOOM TRUCK BED AND FRAME. MINOR DAMAGE TO THE BOOM TRUCK BUT FA TALLY INJURING THE TIRE TECH. THE AREA WAS AN OPEN FIELD AREA, WEATHER WAS CLEAR, AREA WAS DRY, DAYLIGHT HOURS.

February 27, 1999 TN · Metal/Non-Metal mine manager, mine foreman, mine owner Fatality · FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL
Hanson Aggregates Southeast Inc · Struck by falling object

BLUNT FORCE INJURY TO THE HEAD.

March 14, 1995 AL · Metal/Non-Metal quality control technician, laboratory technician, laboratory assistant Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Hanson Aggregates Southeast Inc · Struck against a moving object

THE TRUCK WAS OBSERVED STARTING DOWN THE RAMP INTO THE QUARRY. IT APPEARED TO BE GOING FASTER THAN TRUCKS USUALLY TRAVEL DOWN THE RAMP. THE TRUCK TRAVELED ABOUT 300 FEET TO THE FIRST CURVE WHE RE IT OVERTURNED. THE DRIVER WAS NOT WEARING THESEATBELT.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg., 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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