![]() Reminding miners about their rights to report hazardous health conditions, including any attempt to tamper with the sampling process.For coal mines, those processes include shaft and slope sinking, extended cuts and developing crosscuts, while metal and nonmetal sampling will focus on miners working to remove overburden. A focus on sampling during periods of the mining process that present the highest risk of silica exposure for miners.Expanded silica sampling at metal and nonmetal mines to ensure inspectors’ samples represent the mines, commodities, and occupations known to have the highest risk for overexposure.For coal mines, MSHA will encourage changes to dust control and ventilation plans to address known health hazards. For metal and nonmetal mines where the operator has not timely abated hazards, MSHA will issue a 104(b) withdrawal order until the silica overexposure hazard has been abated. Increased oversight and enforcement of known silica hazards at mines with previous citations for exposing miners to silica dust levels over the existing permissible exposure limit of 100 micrograms.Spot inspections at coal and metal nonmetal mines with a history of repeated silica overexposures to closely monitor and evaluate health and safety conditions.Specifically, the silica enforcement initiative will include: The enforcement initiative that we are announcing today is a step we can take now while we continue the rulemaking process toward the development of an improved mandatory health standard,” Williamson added.Īs part of the program, MSHA will conduct silica dust-related mine inspections and expand silica sampling at mines, while providing mine operators with compliance assistance and best practices to limit miners’ exposure to silica dust. “Our agency is working hard and is committed to issuing a silica rule that will enhance health protections for all miners. We have seen too many miners carrying oxygen tanks and struggling to breathe just to take a few steps or do the simplest of tasks after having their lungs destroyed by toxic levels of respirable dust.” “We are committed to using every tool in MSHA’s toolbox to protect miners from developing debilitating and deadly lung diseases that are entirely preventable. “Simply put, protecting miners from unhealthy levels of silica cannot wait,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson. These conditions include incurable lung diseases such as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, commonly referred to as “black lung ” progressive massive fibrosis, the most severe form of black lung silicosis lung and other cancers chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease. ![]() ![]() Without proper protections and engineering controls in place, miners can be exposed to dangerous levels of crystalline silica particles, which increases their risk of developing serious silica-related diseases. Respirable crystalline silica – minute particles at least 100 times smaller than ordinary beach sand – becomes airborne during cutting, sawing, grinding, drilling, and crushing stone and rock. Materials like sand, stone, concrete and mortar contain crystalline silica. MSHA reports silica dust affects thousands of miners each year and, without adequate protection, miners face risks of serious illnesses, many of which can be fatal.Ĭrystalline silica is a common mineral found in the earth’s crust. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has launched a new enforcement initiative to better protect the nation’s miners from health hazards resulting from repeated overexposure to respirable crystalline silica. ![]() MSHA launched unprecedented effort to protect minersįrom serious illnesses such as black lung disease, silicosis ![]()
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