Employee placed self on the bumper of the miner below the unsupported conveyor tail boom with the machine still energized. EE apparently was trying to trouble shoot issues with the stab jack by utilizing the remote control functions and in the process inadvertently lowered the tail onto self resulting in fatal crushing injuries.
River View Coal LLC: 2 recorded fatalities operator
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This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.ⓘ
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.ⓘ
Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.ⓘ
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.| Year | total case rate | days-away | fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7.55 | 5.34 | 0.000 |
| 2025 | 8.28 | 4.88 | 0.000 |
| 2024 | 7.10 | 3.98 | 0.000 |
| 2023 | 7.13 | 5.03 | 0.000 |
| 2022 | 8.43 | 4.46 | 0.000 |
| 2021 | 7.12 | 3.67 | 0.108 |
| 2020 | 5.89 | 2.15 | 0.000 |
| 2019 | 4.66 | 1.70 | 0.000 |
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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
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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: 2026-08-19
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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.ⓘ
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.- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)25,352
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR16,375
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)12,764
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2026-08-19- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)1,437
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR1,095
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)739
Noise
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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: 2026-08-13
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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.- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)630
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR323
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)312
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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.- Settled 1,886 · 92%
- Stood as issued 2 · 0%
- Vacated or withdrawn 2 · 0%
- Still open 156 · 8%
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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.ⓘ
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.| Docket | Decision | Judge | Year | Proposed / upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KENT 2012-661 | Vacate | Rae | 2013 | $158K → $0 |
| KENT 2011-1168 | Settlement | Tureck | 2013 | $122K → $83K |
| KENT 2024-0078 | Settlement | Bulluck | 2025 | $51K → $35K |
| KENT 2023-0113 | Settlement | Bulluck | 2024 | $46K → $34K |
| KENT 2015-0351 | Settlement | Simonton | 2015 | $33K → $26K |
| KENT 2014-0516 | Settlement | Rae | 2015 | $31K → $20K |
Top causes
- MACHINERY 1 fatality · 165 non-fatal
- POWERED HAULAGE 1 fatality · 84 non-fatal
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 343 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 114 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 98 non-fatal
- FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 88 non-fatal
Incident timeline
Mines on record
Fatalities under this operator
2 recordedEmployee received fatal injuries from a shuttle car that struck him while hanging a check curtain on the #6 unit, #7 entry, #11 seam. His body was discovered by the car operator upon returning from the feeder. (AN MSHA, STATE AND COMPANY INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING.)
Where River View Coal LLC 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.