Mining Incidents

United States Gypsum Company: 2 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by USG Corporation
MSHA operator ID: L00537

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Fatalities
2
Total incidents
772
Mines on record
16
Years on record
1983–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
1,897
citations
352
significant & substantial
$500,246
proposed penalties
$480,841
paid to date
96% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $19,405 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
864
inspections on record
26,384
inspection hours
7.2
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.
1,897 citations across 26,384 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.
$500K
proposed penalties
$481K
current assessed
$481K
paid to date
$159
outstanding
1,868 assessments are final orders; 18 contested dockets.
Of $43K in penalties contested before the Commission, $17K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-07-01.
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.
18.6%
significant & substantial
5.0%
high negligence or reckless
18.5%
reasonably likely or greater
42.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 16.9% low, 78.1% moderate, 5.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2025
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.
1.80
total case rate
0.60
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2026 1.39 0.00 0.000
2025 1.80 0.60 0.000
2024 1.83 0.00 0.000
2023 2.78 0.00 0.000
2022 1.78 0.00 0.000
2021 3.58 0.72 0.000
2020 3.54 0.39 0.000
2019 2.99 0.33 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.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2026-07-01
11%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
560
samples
443
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Total Carbon,TC3916 over
  • Total Carbon,calculated from elemental carbon.3914 over
  • Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz11212 over
  • Diesel particulate (total carbon)10411 over

Area samples (mill and shop air)

Last sampled: 2025-08-21
13
samples
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), 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.
27 citations taken to the federal commission · 1% of citations on record
  • Settled 21 · 78%
  • Stood as issued 6 · 22%
88%
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 17 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
54%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$36K proposed, $17K 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 2025-07-14. 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 2023-0048 Settlement Sullivan 2023 $14K → $3K
CENT 2011-253M Settlement Lesnick 2011 $11K → $6K
CENT 2025-0320 Settlement Paez 2026 $8K → $151
LAKE 2025-0238 Settlement Paez 2025 $4K → $3K
CENT 2010-101M Settlement Weisberger 2011 $2K → $1K
CENT 2011-574M Dismissal Gill 2011 $1K → $1K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2026
2
2025
11
2024
14
2023
11
2022
9
2021
13
2020
9
2019
9
2018
6
2017
6
2016
13
2015
4
2014
14
2013
7
2012
10
2011
10
2010
11
2009
10
2008
10
2007
17
2006
8
2005
18
2004
15
2003
13
2002
10
2001
22
2000
28
1999
23 (1f)
1998
18
1997
34
1996
42
1995
42
1994
44
1993
32
1992
29
1991
43
1990
30
1989
31 (1f)
1988
30
1987
25
1986
11
1985
10
1984
7
1983
11

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

2 recorded
April 8, 1999 UT · Metal/Non-Metal mine manager, mine foreman, mine owner Fatality · IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST
United States Gypsum Company · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE WAS WORKING ON THE ROD OF THE RIDE CYNDER OF THE CATERPILLAR 769C HAUL TRUCK USING AN ACETYLENE TORCH TO HEAT THE BROKEN NITROGEN VALVE. AN EXPLOSION OCCURRED CAUSING THE 113 LB ROD TO BE E XPELLED FROM THE CYLINDER STRIKING THE EE IN THESTOMACH CAUSING FATAL INTERNAL INJURIES.

January 4, 1989 VA · Metal/Non-Metal ledgeman/hand, quarry man Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
United States Gypsum Company · Caught in, under or between collapsing material or buildings

EMP. WAS SCALING WITHOUT WARNING THE ROOF COLLAPSED. EMP DIED FORM INTERNAL INJURIES IN HIS CHEST.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where United States Gypsum 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.

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