Mining Incidents

Newtown Energy Inc: 2 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by Patriot Coal Corporation
MSHA operator ID: P24373

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Fatalities
2
Total incidents
517
Mines on record
4
Years on record
2000–2014
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
4,201
citations
1,667
significant & substantial
$6,208,609
proposed penalties
$3,625,597
paid to date
58% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,583,012 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
1,026
inspections on record
42,411
inspection hours
9.9
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.
4,201 citations across 42,411 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.
$6.2M
proposed penalties
$4.1M
current assessed
$3.6M
paid to date
$498K
outstanding
4,095 assessments are final orders; 170 contested dockets.
Of $5.7M in penalties contested before the Commission, $3.1M was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2014-01-15.
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.
40.5%
significant & substantial
5.6%
high negligence or reckless
42.0%
reasonably likely or greater
30.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.8% low, 87.5% moderate, 5.5% high, 0.1% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2013
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.
10.87
total case rate
5.69
days-away rate
0.518
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.94 and the all-US-mining average was 2.99 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2013 10.87 5.69 0.518
2012 6.21 4.39 0.000
2011 4.10 4.10 0.000
2010 6.71 6.13 0.000
2009 6.90 6.62 0.276
2008 5.56 5.27 0.000
2007 8.03 6.48 0.000
2006 7.83 6.89 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: 2013-12-12, 12 years ago
93%
within 1.5 mg/m3
4,704
samples
8.65
dust max (mg/m3)
1,835 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 2,869 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2,672
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)417
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)230

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2014-01-02, 12 years ago
8.0
silica avg (%)
285
samples
42.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR187
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)7

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: 2013-10-30, 12 years ago
15%
over PEL
297
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)82
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR53
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)33
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.
1,233 citations taken to the federal commission · 29% of citations on record
  • Settled 1,192 · 97%
  • Stood as issued 40 · 3%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 0%
75%
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 995 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
40%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$5.2M proposed, $3.1M 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 2014-09-16. 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
WEVA 2011-1486 Settlement Miller 2014 $350K → $176K
WEVA 2009-23 Vacate Miller 2010 $306K → $37K
WEVA 2009-613 Settlement Melick 2011 $295K → $200K
WEVA 2012-1163 Settlement Harner 2015 $203K → $132K
WEVA 2009-22 Settlement Feldman 2011 $194K → $120K
WEVA 2014-489 Settlement Harner 2016 $166K → $166K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2014
1
2013
32 (1f)
2012
26
2011
38
2010
44
2009
35 (1f)
2008
38
2007
43
2006
40
2005
64
2004
44
2003
38
2002
30
2001
34
2000
10

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

2 recorded
March 13, 2013 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Newtown Energy, Inc. · Struck by falling object

EE was fatally injured while installing a rib bolt in the 8 Right Crosscut on Unit 1 when a slick-n-side formation fell from the mine roof inby the ATRS of the bolt machine, struck the mine floor and protruded into the employees work area. The employee was struck against the back with the rock and caught between the drill pot/mast area of the Fletcher DDR-13 WT he was operating.

October 27, 2009 WV · Coal trackman, track worker, track gang Fatality · HOISTING
Newtown Energy Inc · Struck by powered moving object

Hoisting accident, still under investigation.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Newtown Energy 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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