US DEPARTMENT of LABOR: FALL REGULATORY AGENDA 2009
Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA)
Topic: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Reducing Coal Miners' Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust
MSHA plans to reduce miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust which causes "Black Lung," to protect coal miners and promote the Secretary's good jobs for everyone policy.
Key Action: MSHA plans to publish a proposed rule to reduce coal miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust.
Key Issues
- Consider recommendations in the NIOSH Criteria Document and the Secretary's Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Pneumoconiosis Among Coal Mine Workers including the recommendation to reduce miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust.
- Consider aspects of two previous proposals that would require an underground coal mine operator to verify the effectiveness of a mine's dust control plan, and would allow MSHA to use a single, full-shift sample, as opposed to the average of five samples (existing requirement), to determine miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust.
- Develop a Quantitative Risk Assessment to identify the health risks to miners associated with current exposures and to project the risk reductions.
- Estimate costs and benefits under the proposed rule.
Background
Excessive exposure to respirable coal mine dust can cause coal workers' pneumoconiosis and other diseases such as emphysema. These diseases, collectively known as "Black Lung," are irreversible, cause substantial disability and can be fatal. These health hazards are pervasive in coal mines, both large and small. While considerable progress has been made in reducing dust levels in coal mines, miners continue to develop Black Lung from exposure to coal mine dust. Here are some key facts:
- MSHA's coal dust regulations were last updated in 1980, but the current exposure limit of 2.0 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) has been in effect since 1972.
- In September 1995, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended actions to lower miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust.
- In February 1995, the Labor Secretary convened an advisory committee to assess the adequacy of MSHA's current program and standards to control respirable dust in underground and surface coal mines, as well as ways to eliminate Black Lung and silicosis among coal miners.
- Recent NIOSH data indicate an increased prevalence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis "clusters" in several geographic areas, particularly in the Southern Appalachian Region. Recent NIOSH data also indicate that younger miners are showing evidence of advanced and seriously debilitating cases of coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
