Mining Incidents

R & D Coal Co. Inc.: 1 recorded fatality operator

Controlled by David S Himmelberger
MSHA operator ID: P23098

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
8
Mines on record
1
Years on record
1996–2006
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
129
citations
61
significant & substantial
$926,835
proposed penalties
$7,744
paid to date
1% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $919,091 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
122
inspections on record
3,915
inspection hours
3.3
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.
129 citations across 3,915 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.
$927K
proposed penalties
$914K
current assessed
$8K
paid to date
$906K
outstanding
121 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $929K in penalties contested before the Commission, $916K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2006-12-21.
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.
50.4%
significant & substantial
15.7%
high negligence or reckless
50.4%
reasonably likely or greater
20.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 13.2% low, 71.1% moderate, 9.9% high, 5.8% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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: 2006-10-13, 19 years ago
98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
325
samples
5.63
dust max (mg/m3)
136 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 189 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HAND LOADERS222
  • LABORER32
  • TRACTOR OPERATOR/MOTORMAN19

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2006-08-11, 20 years ago
2.2
silica avg (%)
5
samples
3.4
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HAND LOADERS5

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: 2006-08-09, 20 years ago
16%
over PEL
25
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HOIST ENGINEER/OPERATOR11
  • LABORER5
  • LABORER/BLACKSMITH3
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.
47 citations taken to the federal commission · 36% of citations on record
  • Settled 47 · 100%
97%
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 34 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
1%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$920K proposed, $908K 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 2008-04-08. 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 2007-236 Settlement Weisberger 2011 $874K → $874K
PENN 2008-267 Settlement Weisberger 2011 $25K → $25K
PENN 2006-36 Settlement Zielinski 2006 $19K → $7K
PENN 2008-215 Settlement Weisberger 2011 $7K → $7K
PENN 2006-169 Settlement Bulluck 2007 $1K → $1K
PENN 2004-156 Dismissal Zielinski 2004 $1K → $820
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2006
1 (1f)
2004
4
2001
1
1996
2

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

1 recorded
October 23, 2006 PA · Coal laborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scaler Fatality · IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST
R & D Coal Co. Inc. · Struck by concussion

Accident happened when a cut of coal was blasted in breast. From preliminary report: According to the witness, he heard three explosions. Two were normal. The concussion from the third explosion was excessive. The victim was eventually found at the bottom of #19 chute.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where R & D Coal Co. 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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