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K A Ash Ltd.: 28 MSHA citations operator

Controlled by Robert E Yarger
MSHA operator ID: 0051075

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
9
Mines on record
1
Years on record
2003–2005
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2003
28
citations
16
significant & substantial
$4,922
proposed penalties
$3,214
paid to date
65% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,708 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2003
24
inspections on record
666
inspection hours
n/a
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.
Rate withheld: 666 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
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.
$5K
proposed penalties
$3K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
27 assessments are final orders; 9 contested dockets.
Of $5K in penalties contested before the Commission, $3K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2005-10-25.
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.
59.3%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
59.3%
reasonably likely or greater
25.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 18.5% low, 81.5% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2005
ⓘ 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.
23.45
total case rate
23.45
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 5.11 and the all-US-mining average was 4.21 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
2005 * 23.45 23.45 0.000
2004 * 16.18 5.39 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: 2005-09-14, 20 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
32
samples
1.60
dust max (mg/m3)
32 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER9
  • WATER TRUCK OPERATOR5
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE4

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2005-09-23, 20 years ago
0.3
silica avg (%)
1
samples
0.3
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2005-02-01, 21 years ago
0%
over PEL
7
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR1
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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.
8 citations taken to the federal commission · 29% of citations on record
  • Settled 8 · 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 5 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
26%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$3K proposed, $2K 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 2006-06-05. 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
PENN 2006-204 Settlement Barbour 2006 $2K → $2K
PENN 2003-186 Settlement Lesnick 2003 $798 → $365
PENN 2005-26 Settlement Lesnick 2005 $573 → $389
PENN 2005-183 Settlement Lesnick 2005 $512 → $390
PENN 2004-59-M Settlement Lesnick 2004 $315 → $150
PENN 2004-126 Settlement Lesnick 2004 $253 → $150
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2005
3
2004
3
2003
3

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where K A Ash Ltd. 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.

See a sample report
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