The US Mine Safety and Health Administration released a new rule targeted at the reduction of miners’ exposure to toxic silica dust. Termed a health hazard that damages the lungs, silica, a common mineral, transforms into a threat when activities like grinding, sawing and drilling turn silica crystals into fine dust, which the miners inhale. The inhalation of this dust can lead to potentially fatal diseases like silicosis or black lung, and sometimes cancer.Health researchers have confirmed these findings. They assert that the disease is mostly incurable, with severe cases sometimes necessitating lung transplants.
The new law intends to provide protection for about 289,000 workers in approximately 12,600 mines, including the underground coal mines managed by companies such as Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Resources Inc. It will also extend to surface mineral mines including copper pits owned by Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Newmont Corp.’s gold mines.
Coal mine operators have a year to comply with the standard’s requirements, while companies operating in other mine types have a two-year period. As for the practical steps to be taken to minimize exposure, the rule has called for underground and surface mines to decrease 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. Protective measures would need to be implemented where silica levels reach 25 micrograms. RIN:1219-AB36 provides more information on these requirements.
The regulation seems to put MSHA in line with thresholds established by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2016 for factories, oil drilling sites and construction projects.The stipulation also requires non-coal mines to offer medical examinations, such as chest X-rays, to employees, a measure already taken by coal mines.
Despite the protections put in place, the introduction of the rule has been met with disappointment by some mine operator representatives. In spite of the guidelines laid out by the National Mine Association regarding personal protective gear like respirators, and shorter shifts in silica-exposure zones playing a larger role in compliance, these recommendations have been overlooked by MSHA, according to Ashley Burke, Senior Vice President of Communications in the group. Workers’ advocates are also reviewing the rule to ensure the recommendations for more thorough air testing done by agency representatives are utilized.
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