Tag: Silica Dust

Miners, Advocates Comment On New Silica Dust Rule, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, a draft rule to protect coal miners from exposure to silica dust garnered more than 5,200 comments from advocates and the American public. Emily Rice has the story.

On this West Virginia Morning, a draft rule to protect coal miners from exposure to silica dust garnered more than 5,200 comments from advocates and the American public. Emily Rice has the story.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Black Lung Screenings And Town Hall In Oakhill

Black lung screenings will be available and free to the public Tuesday in Oak Hill.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Mobile Health Unit will be at New River Health in Oak Hill Tuesday to provide free health screenings from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The screenings are open to the public and to retired or working coal miners. Screenings will include chest x-rays, breathing tests and benefits counseling.

Access to this kind of testing in rural areas is vital, according to Courtney Rhoades, Black Lung Organizer with the Appalachian Citizens Law Center.

“Whether you’re a coal miner or someone who just thinks they have any type of pulmonary symptoms happening, it’s so important to make sure that you’re getting screened to make sure that you’re keeping up with your health,” Rhoades said.

A Black Lung Town Hall hosted by the National Black Lung Association, National Coalition of Black Lung and Respiratory Disease Clinics, and the United Mine Workers of America will be held after the health fair, at 5:00 p.m.
The town hall will provide updates on the black lung epidemic and the newly proposed silica dust exposure rule from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Coal Miners Testify For U.S. To Lower Silica Dust Exposure Limit

Silica dust is driving a surge in new black lung cases, causing more severe forms of the disease and in younger miners.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) held a hearing in Raleigh County on Thursday on silica dust exposure in coal mines.

Active and retired miners testified that a lower limit for silica dust exposure is needed to protect the health of coal miners.

Silica dust is driving a surge in new black lung cases, causing more severe forms of the disease and in younger miners.

Gary Hairston, a retired miner in Fayette County who’s president of the National Black Lung Association, said it leaves younger miners unable to support their families.

“It’s bad when you’re at 35 years old and you can’t work no more,” he said. “I was at 48 and I couldn’t work no more.”

MSHA proposes a limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter per shift, in line with Occupational Health and Safety Administration guidelines.

The public will have until Sept. 11 to comment on the proposal, an extension of 15 days.

MSHA Proposes Lower Limit On Silica Dust Exposure For Coal Miners

The limit would be lowered to 50 micrograms per cubic meter per eight-hour shift, down from 100.

Federal mine safety regulators have announced a long-delayed rule that could help reduce cases of black lung disease.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration proposes a new limit on coal miners’ exposure to silica dust. 

The limit would be lowered to 50 micrograms per cubic meter per eight-hour shift, down from 100. That matches what’s already required in other industries by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

“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 Chris Williamson, assistant secretary for Mine Safety and Health at the U.S. Department of Labor. “Silica overexposures have a real-life impact on a miner’s health.”

Studies in recent years have found that silica dust exposure is driving an increase in cases of severe black lung disease in younger miners.

In a statement Friday, Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, said the change was long overdue.

“Workers in other industries have long been protected from excessive exposure to silica dust, but miners were not, even though they work in an environment where silica dust is encountered daily,” he said. “It was a travesty that the government had never taken steps to protect them. But now it finally has.”

The proposed rule also calls for exposure sampling and medical surveillance at no cost to miners.

The agency will take public comment on the proposed rule as well as hold hearings in Arlington, Virginia, and Denver on dates yet to be announced.

Manchin, Coal State Senators Ask MSHA: Where Is Silica Dust Rule?

The Mine Safety and Health Administration was supposed to release its silica dust standard in January.

Coal state senators are pressing federal mine safety regulators on a silica dust rule they promised months ago.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration was supposed to release its silica dust standard in January.

After months of delay, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin and other Democrats from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia are asking MSHA when it will be announced.

A 2020 Inspector General’s report found that three times the number of coal miners were diagnosed with advanced black lung disease from 2010 to 2014 than from 1995 to 1999.

Exposure to silica dust is believed to make black lung disease more severe and strike much younger miners, including some in their 30s.

MSHA has taken actions this year on the enforcement side, with more inspections, sampling, compliance assistance and an emphasis on miners’ rights.

But, the senators wrote to MSHA, that’s not enough.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

MSHA Will Move To Limit Coal Miners’ Exposure To Silica Dust

Under the new plan, mines will be inspected more frequently and will be required to abate silica dust that exceeds what federal law allows.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is implementing a new silica enforcement initiative.

Studies have shown prolonged exposure to silica dust causes pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease. Coal seams are thinner, requiring workers to cut through rock that contains silica.

Under the new plan, mines will be inspected more frequently and will be required to abate silica dust that exceeds what federal law allows.

The agency will review plans for dust control at coal mines and take samples more frequently.

Miners will also be encouraged to report unsafe working conditions without fear of retaliation.

The changes were announced to a black lung conference in West Virginia by Chris Williamson, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety And Health. Williamson is from Mingo County.

Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, praised MSHA’s move.

“We know what causes black lung and how to prevent this deadly disease from stealing the lives of our nation’s coal miners,” Roberts said.

Mine safety advocates want MSHA to cut the amount of silica dust allowed in mines in half to match what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration allows in other workplaces.

An NPR investigation in 2018 found that exposure to high amounts of silica dust put miners, especially younger ones, at increased risk of developing black lung disease and dying of it.

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