Mining Incidents

Upper Mill Mining Company: 1 recorded fatality operator

Controlled by Gary A Horn
MSHA operator ID: P21521

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
58
Mines on record
2
Years on record
1992–2000
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
88
citations
34
significant & substantial
$9,788
proposed penalties
$9,241
paid to date
94% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $547 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
40
inspections on record
1,078
inspection hours
8.2
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.
88 citations across 1,078 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.
$10K
proposed penalties
$9K
current assessed
$9K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
87 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $2K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2001-01-19.
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.
39.1%
significant & substantial
4.6%
high negligence or reckless
39.1%
reasonably likely or greater
0.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 3.4% low, 92.0% moderate, 4.6% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2000
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.
14.68
total case rate
13.21
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 7.74 and the all-US-mining average was 5.64 cases per 100 workers.
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: 2001-01-26, 25 years ago
96%
within 1.5 mg/m3
192
samples
8.96
dust max (mg/m3)
89 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 103 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR79
  • MOBILE BRIDGE OPERATOR24
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)7

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2000-12-15, 25 years ago
8.8
silica avg (%)
19
samples
21.1
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR10

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: 2000-03-01, 26 years ago
50%
over PEL
14
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)6
  • MOBILE BRIDGE OPERATOR5
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
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
VA 20010034 Settlement Barbour 2001 $1K → $835
VA 20010003 Settlement Melick 2001 $368 → $180
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2000
10
1999
7
1998
3 (1f)
1997
3
1996
10
1995
10
1994
5
1993
7
1992
3

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

1 recorded
June 4, 1998 VA · Coal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider Fatality · FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Upper Mill Mining Company · Struck by falling object

EMPLOYEE KNOCKED A TIMBER WHILE RIDING A 3 WHEELER CAUSING THE ROCK TO FALL. SERIOUS INJURY. THE EMPLOYEE HE DIED 6-5-98 12:40 PM. 7.5' WIDE X 9.6' LONG X 7-9" THICK.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Upper Mill Mining 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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