
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is making moves to better protect miners from severe illnesses caused by unhealthy levels of the carcinogen silica. The department’s Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) announced a proposed rule change on June 30, 2023, to provide miners with the same level of health protections as workers in other labor industries.
Ongoing exposure to respirable crystalline silica found in mixed coal mine dust can lead to hazardous health conditions, including coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (more commonly known as black lung disease), multi-dust pneumoconiosis and progressive massive fibrosis. People who are in constant close contact with silica are also at risk of developing silicosis, non-malignant respiratory disease (such as emphysema), kidney disease and lung cancer.
“For generations, America’s coal miners [have] risked their lives and their health to power our country,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown. “No worker should have to risk getting Black Lung to provide for their families.”
The DOL’s new recommendation would reduce the legal exposure limit for mine workers and amend current federal standards to require mine operators to take immediate corrective actions if a miner’s exposure exceeds the limit. Miners’ Permissible Exposure Limit to silica dust would have to remain at or below 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for every 8-hour shift.
“The purpose of this proposed rule is simple: prevent more miners from suffering from debilitating and deadly occupational illnesses by reducing their exposure to silica dust,” said MSHA Assistant Secretary Chris Williamson. “Silica overexposures have a real-life impact on a miner’s health. … This proposed rule furthers the Mine Act’s clear instruction to prioritize miners’ health.”
Included in the proposal are additional requirements that would replace the current obsolete standards with ones that reflect recent advancements made in respiratory protection technologies and practices. Miners would have access to benefits such as exposure sampling and free medical surveillance.
The next steps in the proposal’s approval process are for the MSHA to collect public comments and hold public in-person and virtual hearings in Denver, Colorado, and Arlington, Virginia.