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.
Coal mines have been designated essential businesses in most states. But state and federal agencies are not tracking coronavirus transmissions or regulating sanitation to keep those essential workers safe.
The settlement comes a year after an Ohio Valley ReSource investigation showed the Justice companies had the country's highest delinquent mine safety debt.
Appalachian coal miners at surface mines are consistently overexposed to the toxic silica dust linked to black lung, according to new research from NIOSH.
MSHA issued the request for comment following an NPR/PBS Frontline investigation that found the agency had failed to adequately protect miners despite knowing that silica dust was contributing to an epidemic of black lung disease.
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.
