What are Performance Coal Company's MSHA penalties?

Performance Coal Company has $15.3M in proposed MSHA penalties on record, $15.1M paid, and $529 outstanding.

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Performance Coal Company: 32 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.

MSHA operator ID: P22901

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Fatalities: 32
Total incidents: 615
Mines on record: 4
Years on record: 1994–2014

Compliance record

MSHA citations since 2000

3,967

citations

1,594

significant & substantial

$15,305,675

proposed penalties

$15,052,057

paid to date

98% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $253,618 gap.

Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.

Inspection activity

MSHA inspections since 2000

1,004

inspections on record

78,136

inspection hours

5.1

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.

3,967 citations across 78,136 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.

$15.3M

proposed penalties

$15.1M

current assessed

$15.1M

paid to date

$529

outstanding

3,835 assessments are final orders; 106 contested dockets.

Of $3.6M in penalties contested before the Commission, $3.4M was upheld in final decisions.

As of the most recent assessment on 2017-09-14.

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.

41.5%

significant & substantial

15.8%

high negligence or reckless

42.0%

reasonably likely or greater

33.3%

permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs

Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 8.8% low, 75.3% moderate, 14.4% high, 1.4% 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.

0.00

total case rate

0.00

days-away rate

0.000

fatality rate

Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.94 and the all-US-mining average was 2.99 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
2013 *	0.00	0.00	0.000
2012 *	5.35	2.67	0.000
2011	1.52	1.52	0.000
2010	28.50	23.63	19.462
2009	8.21	5.00	0.000
2008	7.35	6.37	0.000
2007	3.67	1.84	0.000
2006	7.01	5.26	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: 2017-09-11, 8 years ago

87%

within 1.5 mg/m3

2,620

samples

15.36

dust max (mg/m3)

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.

1,135 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1,485 by the operator.

Most-sampled occupations

CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR1,055
SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)233
LONGWALL OPERATOR (TAILGATE SIDE)181

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2010-04-06, 16 years ago

9.0

silica avg (%)

217

samples

31.6

silica max (%)

Most-sampled occupations

CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR143
LONGWALL OPERATOR (TAILGATE SIDE)21
LONGWALL(RETURN-SIDE FACE WORKER)19

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: 2009-12-08, 16 years ago

31%

over PEL

143

samples

Most-sampled occupations

ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)34
SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)33
CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR30

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.

1,229 citations taken to the federal commission · 31% of citations on record

Settled 305 · 25%
Stood as issued 924 · 75%

96%

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 739 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%

Penalty reduction in decided contests

$3.5M proposed, $3.4M 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 2016-12-11. 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
WEVA 2011-1934	Dismissal	Lesnick	2012	$351K → $351K
WEVA 2011-1591	Dismissal	Lesnick	2012	$228K → $228K
WEVA 2011-2504	Dismissal	Lesnick	2012	$225K → $225K
WEVA 2010-728	Dismissal	Lesnick	2012	$140K → $140K
WEVA 2011-270	Dismissal	Lesnick	2012	$139K → $139K
WEVA 2011-2338	Dismissal	Miller	2012	$127K → $124K

Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST 29 fatalities · 5 non-fatal
FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 1 fatality · 188 non-fatal
ELECTRICAL 1 fatality · 4 non-fatal
FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS 1 fatality · 3 non-fatal
HANDLING OF MATERIALS 115 non-fatal
MACHINERY 61 non-fatal

Incident timeline

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

53 (29f)

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

34 (1f)

2002

2001

44 (1f)

2000

1999

1998

37 (1f)

1997

1996

1995

1994

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

32 recorded

April 5, 2010 WV · Coal continuous miner operator, coal mole operator Fatality · IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST