|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (703) 235-1452
Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich has appointed a
nine-member advisory committee to make recommendations on the elimination of
black lung and silicosis among coal miners. The newly formed committee will
conduct its first meeting in February.
"We are pleased to have such a knowledgeable,
well-respected group of individuals to address the important issues concerning
these debilitating occupational diseases," said Reich. "I am hopeful that the
efforts of this committee will lead to the elimination of black lung and create
a more healthful workplace for our nation's miners."
Since the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969
set limits for respirable dust in coal mines, average dust concentrations in
underground coal mines have declined from 8.0 milligrams per cubic meter to the
current standard of 2.0 milligrams per cubic meter.
However, recent medical evidence indicates that miners
continue to develop black lung and silicosis. Black lung is a commonly used
term for lung disease resulting from excessive exposure to respirable coal mine
dust, while silicosis results from exposure to quartz dust. In severe cases,
both black lung and silicosis can be disabling or fatal.
"We will be asking the advisory committee to address the
full range of respirable dust issues," said J. Davitt McAteer, assistant
secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "That includes the available
means to control the dust, improved dust monitoring, the exposure limits
necessary to prevent the disease, the role of the miner in dust monitoring and
the adequacy of the programs under which mine operators take samples to
determine the dust levels to which miners are exposed."
Currently, black lung disability benefits cost the federal
government more than $1.3 billion annually, with 75,000 former miners receiving
benefits.
The majority of the nine-member advisory committee members
have no economic interest in mining. Two members represent organized labor and
two others represent the mining industry.
The neutral members of the advisory committee are:
David Wegman, (advisory committee chairman) chairman of
the department of work environment, and a professor in the College of
Engineering at the University of Massachusetts -- Lowell. A physician and
epidemiologist, Wegman also chaired a National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) working group on lung disease surveillance in miners
and edited one of the leading textbooks in the field of occupational
health.
John Dement, an associate professor in the division of
occupational and environmental medicine at Duke University Medical Center in
Durham, N.C. Dement previously directed the office of disease prevention and
exposure research for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
He has a joint doctoral degree in industrial hygiene/epidemiology and is editor
of Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.
Kathleen Kriess, director of the occupational and
environmental medicine division at the National Jewish Center for Immunology
and Respiratory Medicine in Denver. She is also an associate professor at the
University of Colorado School of Medicine. Kriess has published writings on
occupational lung disease and is a NIOSH-certified reader of pneumoconiosis
x-ray films.
Raja Ramani, professor of mining engineering and head of
the department of mineral engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Ramani
is also director of the Generic Mineral Technology Center for Respirable Dust
and has published more than 150 research papers dealing with mine planning and
design, mine health and safety, and productivity.
Carol Rice, an associate professor of environmental health
at the Kettering Laboratory, University of Cincinnati. Rice is past chairperson
of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and
has published numerous research papers dealing with the measurement and control
of workplace contaminants.
Mining industry representatives are:
John Gibbs, vice president of health management and
corporate medical director of the Kerr-McGee Corp. in Oklahoma City. He is an
adjunct associate professor of occupational environmental medicine at the
University of Oklahoma. Gibbs also serves on the occupational health committee
of the National Mining Association.
Joseph Lamonica, vice-president for health, safety and
training at the Bituminous Coal Operators' Association, Inc., in Washington,
D.C. Lamonica previously served as director of health, safety and engineering
for the Island Creek Coal Co. in Lexington, Ky. Prior to that, he was
administrator for coal mine safety and health at the Mine Safety and Health
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.
Labor representatives are:
Joseph Main, administrator of the department of
occupational health and safety at the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) in
Washington, D.C., for 13 years. Main, a former surface and underground miner,
directs a staff of union safety officials who inspect mines and investigate
accidents at UMWA mines.
James Weeks, associate research professor in the division
of occupational and environmental medicine at the George Washington University
Medical Center in Washington, D.C. A certified industrial hygienist, Dr. Weeks
has published papers in the scientific literature on coal mine dust exposures
and on the effectiveness of mine safety regulations.
The advisory committee is scheduled to convene its first
meeting Feb. 21-22 in Arlington, Va., at the Quality Hotel (Madison Room)
located at 1200 North Courthouse Road. Meetings begin both days at 9 a.m. The
committee will be expected to make its recommendations to Reich within 180
days.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
| 
