MSHA’s current standards for silica have not substantively changed in over 50 years, the report found, despite growing consensus that silica is a major contributor to a surge in black lung disease that’s centered in the Ohio Valley.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has not done enough to protect coal miners during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from an oversight agency released Tuesday.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration will host a public meeting Thursday as it considers action on regulating respirable silica, one of the major contributors to Appalachia’s skyrocketing rates of black lung disease.
