US Sets New Limits on Miners’ Exposure to Toxic Silica Dust (1)

The US Mine Safety and Health Administration released Tuesday a much-anticipated final rule to reduce miners’ exposure to silica dust, a health hazard known to damage lungs.

The rule will cover roughly 289,000 employees at some 12,600 mines, such as underground coal mines operated by companies like Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Resources Inc. It will also apply to surface mineral mines including copper pits owned by Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Newmont Corp. gold mines.

Coal mine operators will have one year to comply with the standard’s requirements while companies operating other types of mines will have two years, according to the rule set to appear in the Federal Register on Wednesday.

Silica, a common mineral, becomes a health hazard when grinding, sawing, and drilling turns silica crystals into fine dusts and miners inhale the dust, health researchers say. The dust can scar lungs, leading to the potentially fatal diseases silicosis or black lung, and sometimes cancer.

The disease is largely incurable and patients with severe cases sometimes have lung transplants.

“No miner should ever have to sacrifice their health or lungs in order to provide for their family,” MSHA Assistant Secretary of Labor Chris Williamson said in statement.

Some mine operator representatives expressed early disappointment with the rule.

MSHA didn’t adopt the National Mine Association’s recommendations for giving personal protective equipment, such as respirators, and shorter shifts in silica exposure areas a greater role in meeting the new requirements, according to Ashley Burke, the group’s senior vice president of communications.

Worker advocates, meanwhile, were still determining if MSHA adopted their recommendations for more air testing done by agency representatives.

“We are reviewing the rule closely to ensure that MSHA has recognized the input from the many health professionals, attorneys, and miners who provided comment on this rule,” said Rebecca Shelton, director of policy at Appalachian Citizens Law Center. “There are too many lives at stake to get this wrong, and we’ll do whatever we can to ensure that this rule provides the protection that miners deserve.”

Air Filters, Water Sprays

The rule calls for underground and surface mines to reduce the “permissible exposure limit” for breathable silica from 100 micrograms of silica per cubic meter of air (100 μg/m3) to 50 micrograms during a work shift (RIN:1219-AB36). Employers would have to start taking some protective measures where silica levels reached 25 micrograms.

The change would bring MSHA in line with limits set by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2016 for factories, oil drilling sites, and construction projects.

Miner advocates and most mine operators backed the lower limit in written comments and at public hearings.

However, there were disagreements on how to reduce exposures. In the final rule, MSHA sided with the miner advocates.

Union and worker groups backed the proposed rule’s preference for reducing levels of airborne silica though engineering controls such as installing improved ventilation systems, using water to suppress silica dust, installing machine-mounted dust collectors, and enclosing machine operators in cabs with air filter systems.

Mine representatives pressed MSHA to allow respirators to be a primary protection.

The rule also requires non-coal mines to offer medical examinations, such as chest X-rays, to employees. Coal mines are already required to provide the medical service.

United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts said the union would ensure compliance.

“Now, our focus shifts to holding mining companies accountable,” Roberts said. “Together with our labor partners, UMWA remains steadfast in our efforts to ensure strict adherence to the new legislation within the industry.”

Lawmakers React

In Congress, Democratic senators representing Appalachian region coal mining states welcomed the rule. They include Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.).

“This rule will play an essential role in safeguarding miners from cancers, silicosis and black lung disease, especially in Appalachia where black lung cases have been rapidly increasing in recent years,” the senators said.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, criticized the rule’s adoption process.

“The Department of Labor’s wrongheaded recklessness in pushing through this final rule serves as a serious detriment to the mining industry – the feedback of stakeholders has largely been ignored in this process,” Foxx said.