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Seneca Coal Company: 198 MSHA citations operator

Controlled by Peabody Energy Corporation
MSHA operator ID: P24182

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
50
Mines on record
1
Years on record
1999–2007
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
198
citations
44
significant & substantial
$76,083
proposed penalties
$54,233
paid to date
71% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $21,850 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
75
inspections on record
2,246
inspection hours
8.8
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.
198 citations across 2,246 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.
$76K
proposed penalties
$54K
current assessed
$54K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
195 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $54K in penalties contested before the Commission, $29K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2007-08-20.
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.
22.4%
significant & substantial
1.0%
high negligence or reckless
22.6%
reasonably likely or greater
6.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 12.8% low, 86.2% moderate, 1.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2007
ⓘ 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.
8.52
total case rate
8.52
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 4.71 and the all-US-mining average was 3.77 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
2007 * 8.52 8.52 0.000
2006 * 12.69 5.08 0.000
2005 2.63 0.00 0.000
2004 12.63 6.74 0.000
2003 11.16 8.58 0.000
2002 5.13 0.85 0.000
2001 1.95 0.97 0.000
2000 2.97 0.99 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: 2005-05-26, 21 years ago
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
86
samples
5.86
dust max (mg/m3)
86 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR15
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR11
  • ROAD GRADER OPERATOR10

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2005-06-06, 21 years ago
11.1
silica avg (%)
5
samples
16.4
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR3
  • BLASTER/SHOOTER/SHOTFIRER1
  • HIGHWALL DRILL HELPER1
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: 2005-05-24, 21 years ago
0%
over PEL
50
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR13
  • SCRAPPER OPERATOR10
  • OILER/GREASER5
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.
4 citations taken to the federal commission · 2% of citations on record
  • Settled 4 · 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 4 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
48%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$45K proposed, $23K 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 2008-10-02. 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
WEST 2009-8 Settlement Manning 2010 $41K → $20K
WEST20000528 Settlement Cetti 2001 $4K → $1K
WEST20000339 Settlement Cetti 2001 $3K → $3K
WEST20000279M Settlement Cetti 2000 $3K → $2K
WEST 2005-300 Settlement Manning 2005 $2K → $2K
WEST 2005-282 Settlement Manning 2005 $2K → $1K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2007
1
2006
5
2005
3
2004
15
2003
13
2002
6
2001
2
2000
3
1999
2

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Seneca Coal Company 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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