Mining Incidents

Triad Underground Mining L.L.C.: 1 recorded fatality operator

Controlled by James River Coal Company
MSHA operator ID: 0050046

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
81
Mines on record
2
Years on record
2002–2014
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
838
citations
162
significant & substantial
$423,413
proposed penalties
$336,589
paid to date
79% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $86,824 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
279
inspections on record
12,404
inspection hours
6.8
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.
838 citations across 12,404 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.
$424K
proposed penalties
$389K
current assessed
$337K
paid to date
$53K
outstanding
817 assessments are final orders; 18 contested dockets.
Of $187K in penalties contested before the Commission, $153K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2014-08-27.
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.
19.9%
significant & substantial
2.7%
high negligence or reckless
19.9%
reasonably likely or greater
21.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 2.8% low, 94.5% moderate, 2.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2014
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.
2.39
total case rate
1.19
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.96 and the all-US-mining average was 2.93 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2014 2.39 1.19 0.000
2013 0.00 0.00 0.000
2012 4.62 0.00 0.000
2011 1.62 0.00 0.000
2010 5.64 4.23 0.000
2009 4.22 0.00 0.000
2008 0.00 0.00 0.000
2007 3.13 3.13 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: 2014-08-26, 12 years ago
88%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1,067
samples
15.91
dust max (mg/m3)
0
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.
517 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 550 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR526
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)203
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)70

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2014-08-01, 12 years ago
4.7
silica avg (%)
110
samples
10.8
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR61
  • 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: 2014-04-16, 12 years ago
22%
over PEL
176
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)64
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR27
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)16
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.
34 citations taken to the federal commission · 4% of citations on record
  • Settled 32 · 94%
  • Stood as issued 2 · 6%
89%
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 27 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
18%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$187K proposed, $153K 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
LAKE 2009-513 Settlement Miller 2011 $55K → $44K
LAKE 2014-0610 Dismissal McCarthy 2016 $52K → $52K
LAKE 2010-573 Settlement Gill 2012 $15K → $10K
LAKE 2009-631 Settlement Miller 2011 $13K → $11K
LAKE 2009-156 Settlement Bulluck 2010 $10K → $8K
LAKE 2007-127 Settlement Bulluck 2008 $9K → $5K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2014
4
2013
3
2012
8
2011
2
2010
6 (1f)
2009
9
2008
4
2007
8
2006
21
2005
4
2004
6
2003
2
2002
4

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

1 recorded
August 31, 2010 IN · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Triad Underground Mining, L.L.C. · Struck against a moving object

At approx 5:20 pm a 40 ton articulating truck was traveling along a haulage road impacting a 63" high berm. The truck traveled across the berm and fell 72 feet to the mine floor below. The victim was extracted from the truck by EMS and airlifted to the Hospital.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Triad Underground Mining L.L.C. 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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