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E-mail This PageMSHA Proposed Rule
Determination of Concentration of Responsible Coal Mine Dust; Proposed Rule [03/06/2003]
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Volume 68, Number 44, Page 10939-10952
[[Page 10939]]
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Part X
Department of Labor
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Mine Safety and Health Administration
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Department of Health and Human Services
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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30 CFR Part 72
Determination of Concentration of Responsible Coal Mine Dust; Proposed
Rule
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
30 CFR Part 72
RIN 1219-AB18
Determination of Concentration of Respirable Coal Mine Dust
AGENCIES: Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Department of
Labor, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS).
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of record; request for comments;
notice of public hearings; correction; close of record.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (the Secretaries) are reopening the rulemaking record on a
joint proposed rule that would determine that the average concentration
of respirable dust to which each miner in the active workings of a coal
mine is exposed can be accurately measured over a single shift. The
Secretaries proposed to rescind a previous 1972 finding by the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health, Education and
Welfare, on the accuracy of single shift sampling.
The Secretaries are reopening the rulemaking record to provide
interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on any issue
relevant to the July 2000 proposed rule; and to solicit comment on new
data and information added to the record.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before June 4, 2003.
The Agencies are also announcing that they will hold public
hearings on this reopening notice. The hearing dates and times will be
announced by a separate document in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be clearly identified as such and transmitted
either electronically to comments@msha.gov, by facsimile to (202) 693-
9441, or by regular mail or hand delivery to MSHA, Office of Standards,
Regulations, and Variances, 1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2313, Arlington,
Virginia 22209-3939. You may contact MSHA with any format questions.
Comments are posted for public viewing at http://www.msha.gov/
currentcomments.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marvin W. Nichols, Jr., Director,
Office of Standards, Regulations and Variances, MSHA; phone: (202) 693-
9440; facsimile: (202) 693-9441; E-mail: nichols-marvin@msha.gov.
This document is also available on MSHA's webpage at http://
www.msha.gov
, under Statutory and Regulatory Information; Federal
www.msha.gov, under Statutory and Regulatory Information; Federal
Register Documents; Proposed Rules. You can view comments filed on this
rulemaking at http://www.msha.gov/currentcomments.htm.
rulemaking at http://www.msha.gov/currentcomments.htm.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with sections 101 and 202(f)
of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act), this
document is published jointly by the Secretary of the Department of
Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
This document should be read in conjunction with: (1) The July 7,
2000 notice of proposed rulemaking (63 FR 42068) addressing
``Determination of Concentration of Respirable Coal Mine Dust, ``Single
Sample''; and (2) the notice of proposed rulemaking addressing
Verification of Underground Coal Mine Operator's Dust Control Plans,
``Plan Verification,'' 1219-AB14, published in today's Federal
Register, and (3) the associated Preliminary Regulatory Economic
Analysis (PREA) available on MSHA's webpage. The plan verification rule
would require operators to verify that the dust controls specified in
the ventilation plan protect miners from overexposure during normal
operations.
In addition to this rulemaking, today's Federal Register contains
the Plan Verification notice of proposed rulemaking, (NPRM). In
combination, these rules represent MSHA's revised program to meet the
Mine Act's requirement that a miners' exposure to respirable coal mine
dust be maintained at or below the applicable standard on each shift.
I. Introduction
II. Background
III. MSHA's Current Enforcement Policy
IV. Revisions to Update Data for Rulemaking Record
(a) Health Effects
(b) Quantitative Risk Assessment
(c) Technological Feasibility
(d) Economic Feasibility
(e) Costs and Benefits: Executive Order 12866
(1) Compliance Costs
(2) Benefits
(f) Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(g) Correction to July 7, 2000 Preamble (65 FR 42068)
V. Public Hearings
Appendix E. References
Appendix F. Supplemental References
I. Introduction
This reopening notice includes supplemental information which
updates the preamble of the July 7, 2002 notice of proposed rulemaking.
This information concerns the background, MSHA's current enforcement
policy, health effects, quantitative risk assessment, technological
feasibility, economic feasibility, compliance costs and benefits, and
the list of references and supporting documentation.
The Agencies organized the July 2000 proposed rule (65 FR 42068) to
allow interested persons to first consider pertinent material on the
Agencies' 1972 notice followed by an overview of the NIOSH mission and
assessment of the proposed rule, as well as those aspects of MSHA's
coal mine respirable dust program relevant to this proposed rule.
Following the introductory material is a discussion of the
``measurement objective,'' or what the Secretaries intend to measure
with a single sample measurement, and the application of the NIOSH
Accuracy Criterion for determining whether a single sample measurement
will ``accurately represent'' the full-shift atmospheric dust
concentration. Next, the validity of the sampling process is addressed,
including the performance of the approved sampler unit, sample
collection procedures, and sample processing. The concept of
measurement uncertainty is then addressed, and why sources of dust
concentration variability and various other factors are not relevant to
the proposed rule. In addition, the 2000 proposed rule summarized the
health effects of occupational exposure to respirable coal mine dust
and presented MSHA's quantitative risk assessment. Finally, the 2000
proposed rule explained how the total measurement uncertainty is
quantified, and how the accuracy of a single sample measurement meets
the NIOSH Accuracy Criterion. Several Appendices, which contain
relevant technical information, are attached and incorporated in the
preamble to the 2000 proposed rule.
The Secretaries are interested in further comment on all issues
relevant to the July 7, 2000 NPRM. The July 7, 2000 NPRM is available
on MSHA's webpage at http://www.msha.gov, under Statutory and
on MSHA's webpage at http://www.msha.gov, under Statutory and
Regulatory Information, Federal Register Documents, Proposed Rules; or
you may contact MSHA at 202-693-9440 for a copy.
[[Page 10941]]
The proposed rule, ``Determination of Concentration of Respirable
Coal Mine Dust,'' has been referred to as ``Single, Full-Shift
Sampling'' based on the Agencies' finding that a single, full-shift
measurement would, after applying valid statistical techniques,
accurately represent the atmospheric conditions to which the miner is
continuously exposed. However, where appropriate, the term ``single,
full-shift sample,'' will now be referred to as ``single sample'' in
this document and any subsequent publications. This reopening notice
does not change the actual finding as published in the July 7, 2000
Federal Register.
II. Background
In 1972, the Secretary of Interior and the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare issued a ``joint finding'' under the Federal
Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. The finding concluded that a
single, full-shift measurement of respirable dust would not, after
applying valid statistical techniques, accurately represent the
atmospheric conditions to which the miner is continuously exposed.
In 1994, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and
Human Services tentatively concluded that the 1972 joint finding was
incorrect. Therefore, on February 18, 1994, the Secretaries published a
proposed Joint Notice of Finding in the Federal Register (59 FR 8537).
The Joint Notice proposed to rescind the 1972 finding and, instead, to
find that a single, full-shift measurement will accurately represent
the atmospheric conditions with regard to the respirable dust
concentration during the shift on which it was taken. Concurrently, on
February 18, 1994 (59 FR 8356) MSHA published a separate Federal
Register document announcing how MSHA intended to use both single,
full-shift samples and the average of multiple, full-shift samples for
noncompliance determinations, and solicited public comment on the
proposed enforcement procedure.
On February 3, 1998, MSHA and the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a final Joint Notice
of Finding in the Federal Register, along with MSHA's enforcement
policy implementing the joint finding (63 FR 5664 and 5687
respectively).
In May 1998, the National Mining Association and the Alabama Coal
Association petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th
Circuit to review the 1998 Notice of Finding. On September 4, 1998, the
11th Circuit issued a final decision and order vacating the Joint
Finding on the grounds that the Agencies failed to comply with all the
requirements for a health standard under section 101(a)(6)(A) of the
Mine Act (30 U.S.C. 811(a)(6)(A)).
In response to the Court's ruling, on July 7, 2000, the Secretaries
published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM), Determination of Concentration of Respirable Coal Mine Dust
(Single Sample) (65 FR 42068). In that document, the Secretaries
proposed a new mandatory health standard in 30 CFR part 72 that stated
that a single, full-shift measurement would accurately represent
atmospheric conditions to which a miner is exposed during such shift.
The proposed rule would rescind the 1972 Joint Notice of Finding.
During August 2000, three public hearings were conducted.
Transcripts of those proceedings are available to the public
(www.msha.gov, under Statutory and Regulatory Information).
III. MSHA's Current Enforcement Policy
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission's decision in
MSHA v. Excel, 23 FMSHRC 600 (June 2001) precluded MSHA from citing an
operator on the average of multiple samples collected by an inspector
on a single shift. This decision affirmed an Administrative Law Judge
dismissal of three citations alleging violations of the respirable dust
standard based on the average of multiple inspector samples taken on a
single shift. The Secretary's appeal of the Commission's decision is
now pending before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (D.C. Cir. No. 01-
1335). Oral argument was held on October 7, 2002. In August 2001, MSHA
ceased issuing citations on the average of multiple samples taken on a
single shift pending a resolution of the appeal. Currently, all
noncompliance determinations are based on the average of multi-shift
sample results. Because this change has taken place since publication
of the July 7, 2000 NPRM, references to enforcement action based on the
average of multiple samples taken by inspectors on a single shift no
longer reflect MSHA's current enforcement policy. The promulgation of
the Single Sample rule would address the 1972 Finding and the
consequences of the June 2001 Commission decision.
IV. Revisions To Update Data for the Rulemaking Record
The Agencies also solicit comments on revised information to update
the rulemaking record which address the following:
(a) Health Effects
(Please see Section VII, 65 FR 42075, of the July 7, 2000 notice of
proposed rulemaking for a complete discussion of Health Effects). The
following provides an update on the Miners' Choice Program.
MSHA and NIOSH implemented the Miners' Choice Health Screening
Program (Miners' Choice) in October 1999. The Miners' Choice program
and Coal Workers' X-Ray Surveillance Program (CWXSP) identify cases of
simple and complicated pneumoconiosis, including coal workers'
pneumoconiosis and silicosis--hereafter referred to as ``CWP.'' All of
the Miners' Choice x-rays were processed using the same procedures and
criteria used in the CWXSP in accordance with the requirements of 42
CFR part 37.
MSHA and NIOSH are conducting preliminary analyses of the first
three years of the Miners' Choice program. These data and analyses are
being handled, conducted, and reported pursuant to the DOL's and DHHS's
respective Information Quality Guidelines.\1\ Preliminary analyses of
these data are expected in Spring 2003. The analyses will be made
available to commenters through the MSHA and NIOSH Web sites,
www.msha.gov and www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html, respectively.
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\1\ Specifically, the information is maintained in a
confidential manner, all methodologies for data processing are
transparent, and all available records were included. This
information is reliable and accurate, and is presented in a clear
and objective manner, as required by the Department of Labor's
Information Quality Guidelines and the Department of Health and
Human Services' Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of Information
Disseminated to the Public.
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As of the end of fiscal year 2002, more than 19,500 active coal
miners from 20 states voluntarily participated in Miners' Choice. The
overall CWP prevalence rate for radiographic categories of simple CWP
categories 1, 2, 3, and PMF combined was 2.8% (546/19,517) among miners
examined in Miners' Choice during the 2000-2002 period. This is similar
to the CWP prevalence rate of 2.25% for initial participants in the
Miners' Choice Program reported in the 2000 NPRM (65 FR 42100). Among
Miners' Choice participants, the CWP prevalence rate was higher among
underground coal miners at 3.8% (356/9,265), than it was for surface
coal miners, 1.8% (188/10,184). The CWP prevalence rate for independent
contractors was 2.9% (2/68). These findings show that CWP continues to
occur among coal miners working under the current program to
[[Page 10942]]
control respirable coal mine dust, including quartz.
(b) Quantitative Risk Assessment
The Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) in support of this rule has
been updated to reflect more current data on the pattern of
overexposures to respirable coal mine dust. The new data replaces some
of the original information used to derive the risk estimates for the
Single, Full-Shift Sample (65 FR 42068) and Plan Verification (65 FR
42122) Notice of Proposed Rulemakings. The updated analysis of risk
provides the best available evidence pursuant to the requirements of
section 101(a)(6)(A) of the Mine Act. Please refer to section VI. of
the July 7, 2000 (63 FR 42123) notice of proposed rulemaking for the
previous discussion of the QRA.
In this quantitative risk assessment (QRA), MSHA will demonstrate
that eliminating overexposures on each and every shift would, over a
45-year occupational lifetime, significantly reduce the cumulative
exposure to respirable coal mine dust, thereby reducing the risk of
both simple CWP and PMF among miners. This reduction in risk would be
attributed to reducing concentrations on just that percentage of shifts
currently exhibiting a pattern of recurrent overexposure.
MSHA has estimated health benefits of the two rules based on
eliminating excessive exposures at only those MMUs and roofbolter
designated areas (RB-DAs) currently exhibiting a pattern of recurrent
overexposures on individual shifts. In the previous proposed rule, MSHA
used operator sampling data from the year 1999 to identify and
characterize such MMUs. In the current proposed rule, MSHA has updated
the analysis to 2001, included MSHA DO sampling data in addition to
operator data, and expanded the quantitative analysis to include the
reduction in risk expected for certain miners not previously considered
(i.e., miners working in RB-DAs). As a result, MSHA believes it has
more accurately quantified the expected reduction in risk for the most
exposed miner population currently subjected to recurrent
overexposures.
By ``exhibiting a pattern of recurrent overexposures,'' MSHA means
that, for the same DO (MMU) or RB-DA, at least two valid MSHA or
operator bimonthly samples exceeded the applicable standard in a given
year. MMUs exhibiting such a pattern are highly likely to have
experienced excessive exposures on at least six shifts during the year
under consideration.\2\
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\2\ MSHA estimates an MMU average of 384 production shifts per
year. At MMUs exhibiting a pattern of recurrent overexposures in
2001, valid DO samples were obtained on an average of about 30 of
these 384 production shifts. If dust concentrations on two or more
of the sampled shifts exceed the standard, then it follows, at a 95-
percent confidence level, that the standard is exceeded on at least
six shifts over the full year.
If a different definition of ``exhibiting a recurrent pattern of
overexposures'' had been used in the QRA, the estimate of the
reduction in risk and associated benefits would have been different.
For example, if the criterion were that four or more bimonthly DO
exposure measurements exceeded the applicable standard then
overexposures would be expected, with 95% confidence, to occur on at
least 20 shifts in a year of 384 shifts. Using more than two
recorded overexposures as the criterion would arbitrarily reduce the
population for which MSHA is estimating benefits and decrease the
estimated number of prevented cases.
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Based on 2001 MSHA and operator data, there were 716 MMUs (out of
1,256 total) at which dust concentrations for the DO exceeded the
applicable standard on at least two of the sampling shifts (MSHA,
datafile: DO--2001.ZIP). MSHA considers these 716 MMUs, representing 57
percent of all MMUs and more than one-half of all underground coal
miners working in production areas, to have exhibited a pattern of
recurrent overexposures. Valid DO samples were collected on a total of
20,905 shifts at these 716 MMUs, and the applicable standard was
exceeded on 4,028 of these shifts, or 19.3 percent. For this 19.3
percent, the mean excess above the standard, as measured for the DO
only, was 1.04 mg/m \3\.
These results are based on a large number of shifts (an average of
nearly 30 at each of the 716 MMUs). Therefore, assuming representative
operating conditions on these shifts, the results can be extrapolated
to all production shifts, including those that were not sampled, at
these same 716 MMUs. With 99-percent confidence, the overall percentage
of production shifts on which the DO sample exceeded the standard was
between 18.6 percent and 20.0 percent for 2001. At the same confidence
level, again assuming representative operating conditions, the overall
mean excess on noncompliant shifts at these MMUs was between 0.96 mg/m
\3\ and 1.11 mg/m \3\. If, as some commenters on the earlier single
sample proposed rule and the Dust Advisory Committee proceedings have
alleged, operators tend to reduce production and/or increase dust
controls on sampled shifts, then the true values could be higher than
even the upper endpoints of these 99-percent confidence intervals.
The available data suggest that, unless changes are made to bring
dust concentrations down to at or below the dust standard on every
shift, the same general pattern of overexposures observed in 2001 will
persist into the future.\3\ Therefore, MSHA concludes that without the
proposed changes:
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\3\ Appendix VI.1 compares the pattern observed in 2001 to that
in earlier years.
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[sbull] More than half of all MMUs would continue to have a pattern
of recurrent overexposures on individual shifts;
[sbull] At those MMUs with recurrent overexposures, average
respirable dust concentrations for the DO would continue to exceed the
applicable standards on about 20 percent of all production shifts;
[sbull] Among those shifts on which DO exposure exceeds the
applicable standards, the mean excess for the DO would continue to be
approximately 1 mg/m\3\.
If all overexposures on individual shifts are eliminated, the
reduction in total respirable coal mine dust inhaled by a miner over a
working lifetime will depend on three factors: (1) The average volume
of air inhaled on each shift that would otherwise have exceeded the
applicable standard, (2) the degree of reduction in respirable dust
concentration in the air inhaled on such shifts, and (3) the number of
such shifts per working lifetime. While the inhaled dose (mg) could not
be measured directly, it is biologically and quantitatively related to
the accumulated exposure (i.e., airborne concentration multiplied by
duration, summed across jobs for each miner) used to predict CWP and
PMF prevalences in the Attfield-Seixas models used in this QRA. If a
miner inhales ten cubic meters of air on a shift (U.S. EPA, 1980),
reducing the respirable coal mine dust concentration in that air by
1.04 mg/m\3\ will result in 10.4 mg less dust inhaled on that shift
alone. Assuming the miner works 240 shifts per year, then reducing
inhaled respirable dust by an average of 10.4 mg on 19.3 percent of the
shifts will reduce the total respirable coal mine dust inhaled by 482
mg per year, or nearly 22,000 mg over a 45-year working lifetime:
1.04 mg less respirable coal mine dust per m\3\ of inhaled air
x 10 m\3\ inhaled air per shift
x 46.32 affected shifts (i.e., 19.3% of 240) per work year
x 45 work years per working lifetime
= 21,678 mg less respirable coal mine dust inhaled per working
lifetime.
In Section V, the strengths and weaknesses of various
epidemiological
[[Page 10943]]
studies were presented, supporting the selection of Attfield and Seixas
(1995) as the study that provides the best available estimate of
material health impairment with respect to CWP. Two strengths of this
study are its quantitative description of exposure-response among both
miners and ex-miners (who had worked as miners for approximately 13-40
years) and the fact that it reflects recent conditions experienced by
coal miners in the U.S. Using the exposure-response relationship it is
possible to estimate the health impact of bringing dust concentrations
down to or below the applicable standard on every shift. This is the
only contemporary epidemiological study of CWP in U.S. miners providing
such a relationship.
Attfield and Seixas (op cit) used two or three B readers to
identify the profusion of opacities based on the ILO classification
scheme.\4\ The most inclusive category defined in their paper was CWP
1+, which include simple CWP categories 1, 2, and 3, as well as PMF.
The second category CWP 2+, does not include simple CWP, category 1,
but does include the more severe simple CWP categories, 2 and 3, as
well as PMF. The third category used in their report was PMF, denoting
any category (A, B, or C) of large opacities. The authors applied
logistic regression models to the prevalence of CWP 1+, CWP 2+, and PMF
as a function of accumulated coal mine exposure calculated for each
miner included in the study. In the absence of data differentiating the
inhalation rates of individual miners, the accumulated exposures in
these models were expressed in units of mg-yr/m\3\.
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\4\ If three readings were available, the median value was used.
If two readings were available, the higher of the two ILO categories
was recorded. Eighty radiographs were eliminated because only one
reading was available.
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At the MMUs being considered (those exhibiting a pattern of
recurrent overexposures), bringing dust concentrations down to no more
than the applicable standard on each and every production shift would
reduce DO exposures on the affected shifts by an average of 1.04 mg/
m\3\. Assuming this average reduction applies to only 19.3 percent of
the shifts, the effect would be to reduce cumulative exposure, for each
miner exposed at or above the DO level, by 0.20 mg-yr/m\3\ over the
course of a working year (i.e., 19.3 percent of shifts in one year,
times 1.04 mg/m\3\ per shift). Therefore, over a 45-year working
lifetime, the benefit to each affected miner would, on average, amount
to a reduction in accumulated exposure of approximately 9.0 mg-yr/m\3\
(i.e., 45 years times 0.20 mg-yr/m\3\ per year). If, as some miners
have testified, operator dust samples submitted to MSHA tend to under-
represent the frequency or magnitude (or both) of individual full-shift
excursions above the applicable standard, then eliminating such
excursions would provide a lifetime reduction of even greater than 9.0
mg-yr/m\3\ for each affected miner.
The Attfield-Seixas models predict the prevalence of CWP 1+, CWP
2+, and PMF for miners who have accumulated a given amount of exposure,
expressed in units of mg-yr/m\3\, by the time they attain a specified
age. Benefits of reducing cumulative exposure can be estimated by
calculating the difference between predictions with and without the
reduction. For example, suppose a miner at one of the MMUs under
consideration begins work at age 20 and retires at age 65. At these
MMUs, the mean DO concentration reported in 2001 was 1.15 mg/m\3\; so,
after 45 years, a miner exposed at this level can be expected to have
accumulated a total exposure of nearly 52 mg-yr/m\3\ (i.e., 45 yr x
1.15 mg/m\3\). By the year of retirement, such a miner is expected to
accumulate, on average, 9.0 mg-yr/m\3\ less exposure if individual
shift excursions are eliminated. For 65-year-old miners, reducing an
accumulated total dust exposure of 52 mg-yr/m\3\ by 9.0 mg-yr/m\3\
reduces the predicted prevalence of ``CWP 1+'' by more than 16 per
thousand (see the entry for affected DO miners in Table VI-1).\5\
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\5\ The Attfield-Seixas model predicts a higher prevalence of
CWP, and consequently a greater risk reduction (35 per thousand DO
miners at age 65), after 45 years of occupational exposure to coal
mine dust in central Pennsylvania or southeastern West Virginia.
(Attfield and Seixas attribute this effect to the type of coal mined
in those geographic areas.) However, few underground coal mines in
central Pennsylvania or southeastern West Virginia are still
operating. In fact, only about 29 of the 716 MMUs exhibiting a
pattern of recurrent overexposures in 2001 were from those areas.
Therefore, the risk assessment presented here, along with projected
benefits of the rule, are based on the lower risks predicted for
miners working outside central Pennsylvania and southeastern West
Virginia.
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This result, however, applies only to DO miners at age 65. The
Attfield-Seixas models provide different predictions for each year of
age that a miner attains. The predicted benefit turns out to be smaller
for younger miners and larger for older miners. This is partly because
younger miners will have accumulated less exposure reduction as a
result of the single sample and plan verification proposals, and partly
because the Attfield-Seixas models depend directly on age as well as on
cumulative exposure. The health effects of recurrent overexposures can
occur long after the overexposures occurred. Even after a miner retires
and is no longer exposed to respirable coal mine dust, the additional
risk attributable to an extra 9.0 mg-year/m\3\, accumulated earlier,
continues to increase with age. Consequently, the benefit to be gained
from eliminating individual shift excursions also continues to increase
after a miner is no longer exposed. For example, assuming no additional
exposure after age 65, the predicted reduction in average prevalence of
CWP 1+ increases from 16.6 per thousand at age 65 to 21.4 per thousand
at age 70. Presumably, the increasingly greater predicted reduction in
risk of disease after age 65 is due to the latent effects of the
reduction in earlier exposure and the progressive nature of CWP.
To quantify benefits expected from eliminating overexposures on
each and every shift, MSHA applied the Attfield-Seixas models to a
hypothetical population of miners who, on average, begin working at age
20 and retire at age 65, assuming different lifetimes.\6\ To show the
range of potential reductions in risk depending on a miner's lifetime,
Table VI-1 presents the risk reductions predicted at three different
attained ages: 65, 73, and 80 years. The projected benefit increases
with attained age. However, MSHA's best estimate of the benefit to
exposed miners is expressed by the reduction in prevalence of disease
predicted at age 73.\7\ Since not all underground coal miners are
overexposed to dust with the same frequency or at the same level, Table
VI-1 shows the risk reductions projected for three different categories
of affected miners: (1) DO miners, (2) NDO miners who are faceworkers
neither classified as a DO nor subject to a separate dust standard
applicable to a RB-DA, and (3) DA roofbolters. The reduction in risk
predicted for each of these three categories will now be discussed in
turn.
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\6\ Appendix VI.2 contains a technical description of the
Attfield-Seixas models and an explanation of how MSHA applied them
to obtain the results shown in Table VI-1. The method used in
applying the models differs slightly from that used in the previous
proposed rule, and Appendix VI.2 also explains this difference. In
addition, an EXCEL workbook entitled ``RiskRdxn.xlw'' showing the
formulas used in the calculations has been placed into the public
record for these proceedings.
\7\ The expected lifetime for all American males, conditional on
their having reached 20 years of age, is 73 years (calculated from
U.S. Census, March 1997, Tables 18 and 119).
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(1) DO Miners
As explained earlier, for DO miners the predicted lifetime exposure
reduction accumulates at a rate of 0.20 mg/m\3\ of reduced exposure per
year during the 45 ``working years'' between
[[Page 10944]]
20 and 65, reaching a maximum of 9.0 mg-yr/m\3\ upon retirement at age
65. Between ages 65 and 80, the accumulated reduction in dust exposure
remains at an estimated average of 9.0 mg-yr/m\3\, but (as also
explained previously) the benefit in terms of both simple CWP and PMF
risk continues to increase.
The first row of Table VI-1 presents the reductions in risk
expected among affected DO miners who work at an MMU exhibiting a
pattern of recurrent overexposures. For this group of miners, the
calculation at an average lifetime of 73 years shows that bringing dust
concentrations down to no more than the applicable standard on each
shift would:
[sbull] Reduce the combined risk of simple CWP and PMF;
[sbull] Reduce the combined risk of simple CWP and PMF by 24.4
cases per 1000 affected DO miners; \8\
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\8\ ``Affected DO miners'' include all miners who work at MMUs
with a pattern of recurrent overexposures and who are exposed to
dust concentrations similar to the DO over a 45-year working
lifetime.
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[sbull] Reduce the combined risk of simple CWP (category 2 and 3)
and PMF by 15.5 cases per 1000 affected DO miners;
[sbull] Reduce the risk of PMF by 7.6 cases per 1000 affected DO
miners.
When the dust concentration measured for the DO exceeds the
applicable standard, measurements for at least some of the other miners
in the same MMU may also exceed the standard on the same shift, though
usually by a lesser amount. Furthermore, although the DO represents the
occupation most likely to receive the highest exposure, one or more of
these other miners may be exposed to even higher concentrations than
the DO on some shifts. Therefore, the second category of affected
miners addressed in Table VI-1 is the population of NDO faceworkers
other than those working in roofbolter DAs (who are addressed as a
separate, third category).
(2) NDO Miners
This category covers all faceworkers other than the DO, except
those roofbolters for which a separate DA dust standard has been
established. (Roofbolters not coming under a DA standard are included
in the NDO category.) To estimate how NDO miners (other than those
subject to a DA standard) would be affected by the proposed rules, MSHA
examined the results from all valid dust samples collected by MSHA in
underground MMUs during 2001 (MSHA, data file: Insp2001.zip). Within
each MMU, MSHA typically takes one sample on the DO and, on the same
shift, four or more additional samples representing other occupations.
In 2001, there was an average of 1.0 NDO measurement in excess of the
standard on shifts for which the DO measurement exceeded the
standard.\9\ For non-DO measurements that exceeded the standard on the
same shift as a DO measurement, the mean excess above the standard was
approximately 0.6 mg/m\3\.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ With 95-percent confidence, on shifts for which the DO
measurement exceeds the standard, the mean number of other
occupational measurements also exceeding the standard is at least
0.91.
\10\ With 95-percent confidence, the mean excess is at least
0.59 mg/m\3\.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Combining these results with the 19.3 percent rate of excessive
exposures observed for the DO on individual shifts, it is reasonable to
infer that, at the MMUs under consideration, an average of 1 other
miner, in addition to the one classified as DO, is currently
overexposed on at least 19 percent of all production shifts. In 2001,
the mean of the highest dust concentration reported for any NDO miner
on sampled shifts was 1.08 mg/m\3\. Over the course of each working
year, the reduction in exposure expected for such miners as a result of
implementing the proposed rules is 0.12 mg-yr/m\3\ (i.e., 19.3 percent
of one year, times 0.6 mg/m\3\).
To assess the reduction in risk expected from eliminating all
single-shift exposures for these NDO miners, MSHA again applied the
Attfield and Seixas models to miners who begin working at age 20 and
retire at age 65, assuming lifetimes of 65, 73, and 80 years. This
time, however, the resulting decrease in predicted prevalence was
multiplied by 1.0/6 = 0.167, to reflect the fact that the assumed rate
of overexposure applies, on average, to about one-sixth of the
faceworkers not classified as the DO.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ There are an estimated 6 NDO miners for each DO miner, and
an average of 1.0 of these 6 miners is overexposed. This does not
include roofbolters working in designated areas, who are treated as
a separate group in the present analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second row of Table VI-1 contains the risk reductions for NDO
miners expected as a result of eliminating all individual shift
overexposures. Over an occupational lifetime, the average reduction in
risk for simple CWP and PMF combined, and for PMF alone, increases with
age. However, the risk reduction at each age is smaller for the
affected NDOs than for the affected DOs. This is expected because the
estimated probability that a NDO (other than a RB-DA) will, under
current conditions, be overexposed on a given shift is only 16.7
percent of the corresponding probability for the DO. For the MMUs under
consideration, the predicted reduction in risk for faceworkers other
than the DO who live an expected lifetime of 73 years is: 2.3 fewer
cases of ``CWP 1+'' per thousand affected NDO miners; 1.5 fewer cases
of ``CWP 2+'' per thousand affected NDO miners; and 0.7 fewer cases of
PMF per thousand affected NDO miners.
(3) Roofbolter DA (RB-DA) Miners
Because roofbolters are often exposed to higher quartz
concentrations than other miners, the applicable dust standard for them
is frequently different from the standard applicable to other miners
working in the same MMU. Therefore, many roofbolters are classified as
working in a ``roofbolter designated area'' (RB-DA). For purposes of
this QRA, such roofbolters were excluded from the analysis of NDO
miners presented above. Based on 2001 MSHA and operator data, 194 out
of a total 659 RB-DAs met MSHA's criterion for exhibiting a pattern of
recurrent overexposures--i.e., dust concentrations exceeded the
applicable standard on at least two of the sampled shifts (MSHA,
datafile: RBDA2001.ZIP). Valid RB-DA samples were collected on a total
of 3477 shifts at these 194 RB-DAs, and the applicable standard was
exceeded on 837 of these shifts, or 24.1 percent (95% confidence
interval: 22.7 to 25.5). For this 24.1 percent, the mean excess above
the standard, as measured for the RB-DA only, was 0.72 mg/m\3\ (95-
percent confidence interval: 0.64 to 0.80).
At these RB-DAs (i.e., those exhibiting a pattern of recurrent
overexposures), the mean concentration reported in 2001 was 0.94 mg/
m\3\; so, after 45 years, an RB-DA miner can be expected, if there is
no change in current conditions, to have accumulated a total exposure
of more than 42 mg-yr/m\3\. By retirement at age 65, such a miner would
be expected to accumulate, on average, 7.8 mg-yr/m\3\ less exposure if
overexposures on all individual shifts were eliminated. (45 years x
24.1% of 0.72 mg/m\3\). The third row of Table VI-1 shows the estimated
impact of the proposed rules on the risk predicted for RB-DA
roofbolters. At age 73, reducing an accumulated total dust exposure of
42 mg-yr/m\3\ by 7.8 mg-yr/m\3\ reduces the predicted prevalence of
``CWP 1+'' by 19.6 per thousand, of ``CWP 2+'' by 12.1 per thousand,
and of PMF by 6.0 per thousand.
[[Page 10945]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.025
Appendix VI.1 DO Overexposure Patterns
In 1998, MSHA attempted to enforce compliance on individual shifts.
Therefore, to compare the 2001 pattern of excess exposures on
individual shifts to that of previous years, MSHA examined the regular
bimonthly DO sample data submitted by mine operators in the 10 years
from 1990 through 1997 and 1999-2000. The same three parameters were
considered as discussed above for 2001: (1) The percentage of MMUs
exhibiting a pattern of recurrent overexposures, as indicated by at
least two of the valid measurements being above the applicable standard
in a given year; (2) for those and only those MMUs exhibiting recurrent
overexposures, the overall percentage of production shifts on which the
DO was overexposed, as estimated by the percentage of valid
measurements above the applicable standard; and (3) for the MMUs
identified as exhibiting recurrent overexposures, the mean excess above
the applicable standard, as calculated for just those valid
measurements that exceeded the applicable standard in a given year.
Although MSHA found minor differences between individual years,
there was no statistically significant upward or downward trend in any
of these three parameters over the 1990-1997 time period (see Table VI-
2). Beginning in 1999, however, there was a significant and persistent
decrease in the average excess above the applicable standard (Parameter
3) for MMUs exhibiting recurrent overexposures. MSHA
attributes this decrease to two important changes in the Agency's
inspection program, beginning near the end of 1998. These changes,
which both resulted in increased inspector presence, were: (1) An
increase in the frequency of MSHA dust sampling at underground coal
mines; and (2) initiation of monthly spot inspections at mines that
were experiencing difficulty in maintaining consistent compliance with
the applicable dust standard.
[[Page 10946]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.026
Appendix VI.2 Application of the Attfield-Seixas Models
Attfield and Seixas (1995) provide separate logistic regression
models for CWP1+, CWP2+, and PMF as a function of cumulative dust
exposure (mg-yr/m\3\). These models all have the following form:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.027
where p is the probability of disease at a specified age and cumulative
exposure. The constant e is the base of the natural logarithms. The
empirically estimated coefficients a0 (the intercept),
a1, a2, and a3 differ for the three
health effects considered and are presented in Table IV of Attfield and
Seixas (op cit). The values for these coefficients are also shown in
the Excel workbook (RiskRdxn.xlw) MSHA has placed into the public
record as part of these proceedings. The coefficient (a3) of
``rank'' refers to an additional effect of cumulative exposure to coal
mine dust in central Pennsylvania or southeastern West Virginia, which
the authors attribute to the rank of the coal mined in those areas.
Since few mines in those areas are currently operating, MSHA did not
employ this additional effect in its application of the Attfield-Seixas
models (i.e., MSHA assumed that the value of the indicator variable for
``rank'' is zero).
From equation 1, assuming exposure outside central Pennsylvania and
southeastern West Virginia, it follows that the prevalence of disease,
assuming continued exposure at current levels and approximate linearity
of the exposure effect, is (per thousand miners):
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.028
Similarly, the prevalence of disease, assuming reduced cumulative
exposure attributable to implementation of the proposed rules is (per
thousand miners):
[[Page 10947]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.029
Note that the ``reduced mean annual exposure'' is the current mean
annual exposure (based on 2001 data) reduced by eliminating
overexposures on just that percentage of shifts for which overexposures
have been shown to currently occur.
MSHA then estimated the impact of eliminating all overexposures on
individual shifts by calculating (for ages 65, 73, and 80) the
differences:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.030
It is these differences that are presented in Table VI-1. The
calculations for each specific entry are detailed in the EXCEL
workbook, RiskRdxn.xlw, which has been placed into the public
record.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ The method used here provides an approximation of the
expected risk reduction ([xutri]), assuming approximate linearity of
the exposure-response relationship over the exposure range of
interest. This differs from the method used in the previous proposed
rule, where lower bounds on the risk reduction were calculated. The
calculations in the previous proposed rule defined
[Agr] = Py, - Px,
where y' = y / x and x and x' = e
a 0xage The previous method results in lower values than those
shown in Table VI-1. For example, for ``CWP 1+'' among affected DO
miners at age 73, applying the previous method to 2001 operator and
MSHA data would have resulted in a calculated risk reduction of 16.3
per thousand instead of the 24.4 per thousand presented in Table VI-
1. MSHA believes the method used in the current proposed rule more
accurately represents the reduction in risk that can be expected if
all individual shift overexposures are eliminated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) Technological Feasibility
The following discussion is a Summary of Chapters 3 and 4 of the
Preliminary Regulatory Economic Analysis (PREA). The PREA is available
in hard copy by request and also available on MSHA's Web page under
Statutory and Regulatory Information. This discussion parallels the
Regulatory Impact Analysis discussion in the accompanying notice of
proposed rulemaking, ``Verification of Underground Coal Mine
Operators'' Dust Control Plans and Compliance Sampling for Respirable
Dust,'' published by MSHA, RIN 1219-AB14, in today's Federal Register.
MSHA, in consultation with NIOSH, believes that compliance with the
proposed Single Sample rule would be technologically feasible for the
mining industry. The Single Sample rule would predominantly affect
MSHA's procedures since MSHA alone conducts inspector sampling.
However, due to the promulgation of the Single Sample rule, some
operators would experience a slight increase in the number of abatement
samples they would conduct using current technology. After the
promulgation of the proposed Single Sample rule, coal operators would
continue to comply with the existing respirable dust concentration
limit of 2.0 mg/m3. Such compliance with the applicable
standard has proven feasible over the years. Furthermore, compliance
determination based on an inspector, single sample result was found to
be technologically feasible during the prior effective Interim Single-
Sample Enforcement Policy (Single Sample), in effect from March 2, 1998
through September 4, 1998.
(d) Economic Feasibility
The following discussion is a Summary of Chapters 3 and 4 of the
Preliminary Regulatory Economic Analysis (PREA). The PREA is available
in hard copy by request and also available on MSHA's webpage under
Statutory and Regulatory Information. This discussion parallels the
Regulatory Impact Analysis discussion in the accompanying notice of
proposed rulemaking, ``Verification of Underground Coal Mine
Operators'' Dust Control Plans and Compliance Sampling for Respirable
Dust published by MSHA, RIN 1219-AB14, in today's Federal Register.
MSHA, in consultation with NIOSH, believes that the Single Sample
rule would be economically feasible for the coal mining industry based
on its most recent cost estimates. The coal mining industry would incur
costs of approximately $3.1 million yearly to comply with the proposed
Single Sample rule. Coal mine operators would also incur approximately
an additional $1.7 million yearly in penalty costs associated with the
additional citations arising from the proposed Single Sample rule.\13\
That the total $4.8 million borne yearly by the coal mining industry as
a result of the proposed Single Sample rule is well less than 1 percent
(about 0.03 percent) of the industry's yearly revenues of $17.7 billion
provides convincing evidence that the proposed rule is economically
feasible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ The estimate of the number of additional citations MSHA
anticipates issuing under the single sample rule reflects a
substantial increase over the number of additional citations
anticipated under the July 7, 2000 proposed rule. This is because
the baseline period employed in the revised cost estimates (August
through December 2001) reflects the time period after which MSHA
ceased issuing citations based upon multiple samples collected over
a single shift. As a result, the number of citations during the
revised base period is lower than the number of citations for the
base period used in the July 7, 2000 cost estimate. The estimate of
the number of additional citations MSHA expects to issue under the
single sample proposed rule rose from 561 in the July 7, 2000 PREA
to 909 in the 2003 revised PREA. This increase in the number of
additional citations is primarily responsible for the increase in
the revised total cost estimate for the single sample proposed rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since single sample and plan verification are complementary NPRMs
intended to be promulgated at the same time, the detailed presentation
of assumptions and estimates for each are available in the same
Preliminary Regulatory Economic Analysis (PREA)(MSHA, February 2003).
(e) Costs and Benefits: Executive Order 12866
In accordance with Executive Order 12866, the Agencies have revised
the PREA of the estimated costs and benefits associated with the
proposed rule for the underground and surface coal mining sectors. The
key findings are summarized below.
1. Compliance Costs
The Agencies estimate that the cost of this NPRM would be
approximately $3.1 million annually, of which all but about $57,000
would be borne by underground coal mine operators (the residual $57,000
to be borne by surface coal mine operators). Table XIII-1 (Summary of
Compliance Costs) summarizes the estimated compliance costs by
provision, for underground and surface coal mines, for the following
three mine size categories: (1) Those employing fewer than 20 workers;
(2) those employing between 20 and 500 workers; and (3) those employing
more than 500 workers.
The compliance costs arising from the Single Sample NPRM would
occur as a result of an increase in the number of MSHA inspector
citations issued to underground and surface coal mine operators due to
the determination of noncompliance being based on the results of a MSHA
single sample rather than the average of multiple-shift sample results.
The additional citations
[[Page 10948]]
would require mine operators to undertake the following actions and to
incur associated compliance costs: take corrective action(s) in order
to get back into compliance with the applicable dust standard; perform
abatement sampling; complete dust data cards; send abatement samples to
MSHA; post abatement sample results; write respirable dust plans; and
post a copy of dust plans.
In addition to these estimated compliance costs, mine operators
would incur yearly penalty cost increases of about $1.7 million.
Penalty costs conventionally are not considered to be a cost of a rule
(and, in fact, are clearly not a compliance cost) but merely a transfer
payment to the government from a party violating a rule. Therefore, the
penalty costs are not included as part of the compliance costs of the
proposed Single Sample rule. These penalty costs are relevant, however,
in determining the economic feasibility of the proposed Single Sample
rule.
The derivation of the above cost figures are presented in Chapter
IV of the PREA that accompanies this rule.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.031
[[Page 10949]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.032
[[Page 10950]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP06MR03.033
2. Benefits
This benefits analysis is in support of the proposed Single Sample
and Plan Verification rules, and updates information used in the Single
Sample NPRM (65 FR 42068) and Plan Verification (65 FR 42122) NPRM. The
revised Plan Verification NPRM is published elsewhere in today's
Federal Register. This benefit analysis has been updated to include the
revised QRA;\14\ the reduction in the number of active mines (and
miners); and more recent information on the Black Lung Compensation
Program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ The revised QRA is published in full in section VIII of the
Plan Verification NPRM. The QRA has been expanded to include
quantitative estimates of reduction in CWP risk estimates for
affected roofbolters working in designated areas (RB-DA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For all categories of simple coal workers' (CWP) pneumoconiosis and
progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) combined, MSHA estimates, over an
occupational lifetime (45-years) for miners who live to age 73 and who
worked at MMUs exhibiting a pattern of recurrent overexposures, a
minimum of 42 fewer cases among affected DO, NDO, and RB-DA miners than
would otherwise occur without the promulgation of the Single Sample and
Plan Verification rules. MSHA and NIOSH believe that the 42 prevented
cases of CWP identified understate the true benefit of these proposed
rules. The
[[Page 10951]]
Benefits chapter of the PREA and the Benefits section of the proposed
Plan Verification rule delineate the reasons why this quantitative
estimate understates the health benefit to all coal miners (http://
www.msha.gov/flex.htm
).
www.msha.gov/flex.htm).
(f) Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
The proposed Single Sample rule contains information collections
which are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95). The proposed
Single Sample rule would increase paperwork for surface and underground
coal mine operators. Surface coal mines would incur an additional 323
burden hours annually costing $9,278. Underground coal mines would
incur an additional 5,354 burden hours annually costing $142,690. All
of the additional burden hours and costs for underground coal mines
arising from the Single Sample rule would be eliminated as a result of
the promulgation of the plan verification rule.
We invite public comments and are particularly interested in
comments which:
(a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information
(presented here and in the PREA for the proposed Single Sample rule) is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of MSHA,
including whether the information would have practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(d) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.
We have submitted a copy of this proposed rule to OMB for its
review and approval of these information collections. Interested
persons are requested to send comments regarding this information
collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden, if under 10
pages, by facsimile (202) 395-6974 to Attn: Desk Officer for MSHA; or
by e-mail to: cathomas@omb.gov. All comments may be sent by mail
addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB New
Executive Office Building, 725 17th St., NW, Rm. 10235, Washington, DC
20503, Attn: Desk Officer for MSHA. Please send a copy of your comments
to MSHA at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of the preamble.
Submit written comments on the information collection not later than
June 4, 2003.
Our paperwork submission summarized above is explained in detail in
the PREA. The PREA includes the estimated costs and assumptions for
each proposed paperwork requirement related to the proposed Single
Sample rule. These paperwork requirements have been submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget for review under section 3504(h) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Respondents are not required to
respond to any collection of information unless it displays a current
valid OMB control number. The PREA is located on our Web site at http:/
/www.msha.gov/REGSINFO.HTM.
Comments may be sent to the addresses
/www.msha.gov/REGSINFO.HTM. Comments may be sent to the addresses
listed in the ADDRESSES section of the preamble.
(g) Correction to the July 7, 2000 Preamble (65 FR 42068)
On page 42076, column two, line 25, change ``4.8%'' to ``5.6%''.
The sentence should read, ``Across the eight surface cohorts surveyed,
the prevalence rate of simple CWP and PMF combined, among participants
was 5.6%.''
V. Public Hearings
MSHA and NIOSH plan to hold public hearings on the reopening
notice. The hearings will be held under Section 101 of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977. The hearings will be held in the
following cities:
(a) Evansville, Indiana;
(b) Charleston, West Virginia;
(c) Grand Junction, Colorado;
(d) Birmingham, Alabama;
(e) Lexington, Kentucky; and
(f) Washington, Pennsylvania.
The specific dates, times and facilities for the hearings will be
announced by a separate notice in the Federal Register.
Dated: March 3, 2003.
Elaine L. Chao,
Secretary, Department of Labor.
Dated: March 3, 2003.
Tommy G. Thompson,
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
Appendix E--References
The following is a list of references cited in this document. Some
of these are additions to the existing rulemaking record.
Attfield, M.D. and Noah S. Seixas. Prevalence of pneumoconiosis and
its relationship to dust exposure in a cohort of U.S. bituminous coal
miners and ex-miners. Am. J. Ind. Med., Vol. 27, pp. 137-151, 1995.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Excel File, RiskRdnxn.xlw,
2002.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Number of Percentage of RB-
DAs by Mine Size of Underground Coal Mines, and Number of Production
Shifts, September 4, 2002.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Designated Occupations
Sampling Data, MSHA Data File DO--2001.zip, 2001.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Roof-bolter Designated Area
Sampling Data, MSHA Data File RBDA2001.zip, 2001.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Bimonthly Operator Samples
for Designated Occupations, MSHA Data File OP--2001.zip, 2001.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Inspector Samples, CY 2001,
MSHA Data File Insp2001.zip, 2001.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Preliminary Regulatory
Economic Analysis, (PREA), Chapter 4, February 2003.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Work-Related
Lung Disease Surveillance Report: 1999. DHHS (NIOSH) Number 2000-105,
1999.
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Table 18.
Resident Population, by Race, 1980 to 1996, and Projections, 1997 to
2050, P25-1095 and P25-1130; and Population Paper Listing PPL-57, March
1997.
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Table 119.
Expectation of Life and Expected Deaths, by Race, and Age: 1994, March
1997.
U.S. EPA, Guidelines and methodology used in the preparation of
health effects assessment chapters of the consent decree water criteria
documents. 45 FR 79347-79357, 1980).
Appendix F--Supplemental References
The following references have been added to the Single Sample
rulemaking record.
Ahmad, D.; Morgan, W.K.C; Lapp, N.L.; Reger, R.; and J.J. Renn.
Meretricious effects of coal dust [letter]. (see Beeckman-Wagner et
al., 2002 for authors' response). AM J Respir Crit Care, Feb 15;
165(4):552-43, 2002.
Althouse, R.B.; Castellan, R.M.; Attfield, M.D.; Bang K.M.; and
J.E. Parker, ``Surveillance of Pneumoconiosis morbidity in U.S.
underground coal miners: 1975-1995.'' 1998 Elsevier Sciences BV.
Advances in
[[Page 10952]]
the Prevention of Occupational Respiratory Diseases. K. Chiyotani, Y.
Hosoda and Y. Aizawa, editors.
Attfield, M.D.; Vallyathan, V. and F.H.Y. Green. ``Radiographic
Appearances of Small Opacities and their Correlation with Pathology
Grading of Macules, Nodules and Dust Burden in the Lungs.'' Annual
Occupational Hygiene, Volume 38, Supplement I:783-789, 1994.
Beeckman-Wagner, L.F.; Wang, M.; Petsonk, E. and G.R. Wagner.
Meretricious effects of coal dust [authors' response]. American Journal
of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine. February 15; 165(4):553, 2002.
Beeckman, L.F.; Wang, M.L.; Petsonk, E.L.; and G.R. Wagner. ``Rapid
Declines in FEV1 and Subsequent Respiratory Symptoms,
Illnesses, and Mortality in Coal Miners in the United States. American
Journal of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine. Vol 163:633-639, 2001.
Castranova, V. and V. Vallyathan. ``Silicosis and Coal Workers''
Pneumoconiosis,'' Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol 108,
Supplement 4:675-684, August 2000.
De Vuyst, P. and P. Camus. The past and present of pneumoconioses.
Service de Pneumologie, Hopital Erasme, Bruxelles, Belgique. Curr Opin
Pulm Med; 6(2):151-6, March 2000.
Douglas, A.N.; Robertson, A.; Chapman, J.S.; and V.A. Ruckley. Dust
exposure, dust recovered from the lung, and associated pathology in a
group of British coalminers.'' British Journal of Industrial Medicine.
43:795-801, 1986.
Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Compliance Guide to the Black
Lung Benefits Act, May 2001.
Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor,
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, OWCP Annual Report to
Congress FY 2000, Submitted to Congress 2001.
Fernie, J.M. and V.A. Ruckley, ``Coalworkers'' Pneumoconiosis:
Correlation Between Opacity Profusion and Number and Type of Dust
Lesions with Special Reference to Opacity Type.'' British Journal of
Industrial Medicine, 44:273-277, 1987.
Heederik, D. and M. Attfield, ``Characterization of Dust Exposure
for the Study of Chronic Occupational Lung Disease: A Comparison of
Different Exposure Assessment Strategies.'' American Journal of
Epidemiology, Volume 151, Number 10, 982-990, 2000.
Jimenez-Ruiz, C.A., Masa, F.; Miravitlles, M., Gabriel, R.; Vieho,
J.L.; Villsante, C.; Sobradillo, V.; and the IBERPOC Study
Investigators, ``Smoking Characteristics: Differences in Attitudes and
Dependence Between Healthy Smokers and Smokers with COPD.'' Chest,
119:(5):1365-1370, May 2001.
Kuempel, E.D.; O'Flaherty, E.J.; Stayner, L.T.; Smith, R.J.; Green,
F.H.Y.; and V. Vallyathan. ``A Biomathematical Model of Particle
Clearance and Retention in the Lungs of Coal Miners.'' Regulatory
Toxicology and Pharmacology, 34:69-87, 2001.
Kuempel, E.D.; Tran, C.; Smith, R.; and A.J. Bailer. ``A
Biomathematical Model of Particle Clearance and Retention in the Lungs
of Coal Miners.'' Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 34:88-101,
2001.
Lin, L.C.; Yang, S.C.; and K.W. Lu. ``Ventilatory Defect in Coal
Workers with Simple Pneumoconiosis: Early Detection of Functional
Abnormalities. Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 17(5):245-52, May 2001.
Meyer, J.D.; Holt, D.L.; Chen, Y.; Cherry, N.M.; and J.C. McDonald.
SWORD '99: surveillance of work-related and occupational respiratory
disease in the UK. Occup Med (Lond), 51(3):204-8, May 2001.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Chart, Number and Percentage
of MMUs by Mine Size of Underground Coal Mines, and Number of
Production Shifts, July 10, 2002.
Mine Safety and Health Administration, Chart, Mines and Entity in
Producing Status, May 14, 2002.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Letter from
Dr. Michael Attfield, to Melinda Pon, Chief, Division of Health, Mine
Safety and Health Administration, dated September 30, 2002, correcting
a July 11, 2002 letter from Dr. Wagner to Ms. Pon, Re: CWXSP.
Page, S.J.; and J.A. Organiscak, ``Suggestion of a Cause-and-Effect
Relationship Among Coal Rank, Airborne Dust, and Incidence of Workers'
Pneumoconiosis.'' AIHAJ, Volume 61: 785-787, November/December 2000.
Ruckley, V.A.; Fernie, J.M.; Campbell, S.J.; and H.S. Cowie. H.S.,
``Causes of Disability in Coal Miners: A Clinico-Pathological Study of
Emphysema, Airways Obstruction and Massive Fibrosis.'' Report No. TM/
89/05, UDC 622.872:616 24-007.61.
Ruckley, V.A.; et al., ``Comparison of Radiographic Appearances
with Associated Pathology and Lung Dust Content in a Group of
Coalworkers.'' British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 41, 459-467,
1984.
Scarisbrick, D., ``Silicosis and Coal Workers'' Pneumoconiosis. The
Practitioner, 246(1631):114:117, February 2002.
Singh, N.; and G.S. Davis, Review: Occupational and Environmental
Lung Disease. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 8(2):117-125, March 2002.
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[FR Doc. 03-5402 Filed 3-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P
