On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) released its final rule aimed at reducing miners’ exposure to respirable crystalline silica, otherwise known as silica dust or quartz dust. The final rule largely adopts the version MSHA proposed last year that modifies the limits of exposure to crystalline silica and increases existing protections against other airborne particulates more generally. The rule is set to be published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2024, and the bulk of the rule will take effect in two months.
The rule will require underground and surface mines to reduce the “permissible exposure limit” for breathable silica from 100 micrograms of silica per cubic meter of air (100 μg/m3) to 50 micrograms (50 μg/m3) during a shift. It additionally requires operators to begin taking some protective measures where silica levels reach an “action level” of 25 micrograms (25 μg/m3). These changes also bring MSHA in line with the standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2016 for factories, oil drilling sites, and construction projects.
The rule also requires metal and non-metal mine operators to establish medical surveillance programs to provide periodic health examinations at no cost to miners. These examinations are similar to those already required for coal miners under existing standards.
Coal mine operators will have one year after the regulation takes effect to comply with the rule, while metal and non-metal mine operators will have two years following the rule’s effective date to comply with the new requirements.
In a press release announcing the rule, MSHA recognized that the inhalation of respirable crystalline silica “can cause serious lung and other diseases, such as silicosis, lung cancer, progressive massive fibrosis, chronic bronchitis and kidney disease.” MSHA noted also that exposure to “mixed coal mine dust containing respirable crystalline silica can lead to the development of black lung disease and progressive massive fibrosis.” MSHA believes that the rule change will result in over 1,000 lifetime avoided deaths and almost 4,000 lifetime avoided cases of silica-related illnesses.
If you have any questions regarding MSHA’s new rule, or any other developments in the mine safety field, please reach out to a member of Jackson Kelly’s Workplace Safety and Health Team.