The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration will hold a hearing next week in Raleigh County on the proposed limit for silica dust exposure in coal mines.
The hearing will start at 9 a.m. on Aug. 10 at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, 1301 Airport Road in Beaver.
The agency proposes to lower the maximum exposure to 50 micrograms per meter of air during an eight-hour shift. That matches the limit already in place under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Silica dust exposure has been linked to an earlier onset of black lung disease in miners, and to more severe cases.
The hearing is the only one scheduled to take place in Central Appalachia, where new cases of black lung disease are most concentrated.