Independent Salt Company: 673 MSHA citations operator
Controlled by
Brian G Keener
MSHA operator ID: L11317
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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any Independent Salt Company mine.
- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 175
- Mines on record
- 1
- Years on record
- 1989–2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
673
citations
108
significant & substantial
$210,849
proposed penalties
$172,674
paid to date
82% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $38,175 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
151
inspections on record
6,508
inspection hours
10.3
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.673 citations across 6,508 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.$211K
proposed penalties
$197K
current assessed
$173K
paid to date
$24K
outstanding
630 assessments are final orders; 26 contested dockets.
Of $64K in penalties contested before the Commission, $35K 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.16.2%
significant & substantial
2.9%
high negligence or reckless
16.2%
reasonably likely or greater
59.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 10.2% low, 86.9% moderate, 2.9% 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.6.59
total case rate
4.39
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 * | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2025 * | 6.59 | 4.39 | 0.000 |
| 2024 * | 6.78 | 4.52 | 0.000 |
| 2023 * | 13.68 | 6.84 | 0.000 |
| 2022 * | 7.58 | 5.05 | 0.000 |
| 2021 * | 6.85 | 4.57 | 0.000 |
| 2020 | 9.89 | 5.93 | 0.000 |
| 2019 | 1.97 | 1.97 | 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.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: 2026-07-30
ⓘ
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.3%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
111
samples
61
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Diesel particulate (total carbon)312 over
- Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz24
- Total Carbon,calculated from elemental carbon.12
- Total Carbon,TC12
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2025-07-177
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.
52
citations taken to the federal commission · 8% of citations on record
- Settled 44 · 85%
- Stood as issued 1 · 2%
- Still open 7 · 13%
56%
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 25 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
27%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$47K proposed, $35K 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 2026-08-12. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CENT 2009-615M | Settlement | Lesnick | 2010 | $14K → $10K |
| CENT 2010-1153M | Withdrawal | Gill | 2011 | $13K → $0 |
| CENT 2010-1012M | Settlement | Gill | 2011 | $11K → $10K |
| CENT 2025-0069 | Settlement | Young | 2025 | $6K → $2K |
| CENT 2010-397M | Settlement | Lesnick | 2010 | $4K → $4K |
| CENT 2010-23M | Settlement | Lesnick | 2010 | $2K → $2K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 51 non-fatal
- HOISTING 36 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 21 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 20 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 16 non-fatal
- POWERED HAULAGE 14 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2025
3
2024
3
2023
6
2022
3
2021
4
2020
5
2019
1
2018
1
2017
1
2016
2
2015
1
2014
2
2013
6
2012
4
2011
10
2010
8
2009
7
2008
6
2007
5
2006
6
2005
9
2004
7
2003
9
2002
10
2001
6
2000
5
1999
5
1998
2
1997
4
1996
4
1995
4
1994
8
1993
4
1992
3
1991
7
1990
3
1989
1
Mines on record
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Independent Salt Company 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.