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New federal rules will limit miners' exposure to deadly disease-causing dust

MILES PARKS, HOST:

The Federal Mine Safety Agency, after decades of stalled attempts, has a proposal to tighten rules about how much harmful silica dust mineworkers can be exposed to. Justin Hicks of WFPL in Louisville, Ky., reports the dust causes the deadly black lung disease. So the proposal has victim advocates celebrating.

JUSTIN HICKS, BYLINE: For years, Vonda Robinson watched her husband struggle for breath. He worked in coal mines and was diagnosed with black lung disease. She remembers the first time seeing the silica in her husband's lungs on an X-ray.

VONDA ROBINSON: One of the pulmonologists showed me - he said, you see that? And he said, it looks like slivers of glass, don't it? I said, yes, it does. And I mean, all that is, is just going in there and cutting.

HICKS: Robinson learned that the silica comes from drilling into the rock that surrounds coal. She also learned that mineworkers are legally allowed to be exposed to silica dust levels twice that of any other worker in the nation. She wanted to change that and eventually became vice president of the National Black Lung Association. After years of fighting, she now has something to celebrate.

ROBINSON: Yes. And I'm so happy (laughter). I'm so happy.

HICKS: She's happy because on Friday, after decades of reports, promises and false starts, the Mine Safety and Health Administration released a proposal to put silica exposure levels for miners - coal or not - in line with all other workers in the U.S. Here's MSHA Assistant Secretary Chris Williamson.

CHRIS WILLIAMSON: All miners deserve this level of protection, and they deserve to have their health prioritized. The law is very clear about that. And I think that just makes a lot of sense on a personal, human level.

HICKS: The rules would require routine medical testing of workers at all mines, not just coal. Williamson says the government wants to know more about their exposure to silica dust, too.

WILLIAMSON: We know some of these things in coal because of the existence of those surveillance programs. And those things don't exist in metal nonmetal mines.

HICKS: If the proposed rules go into effect, companies would need to find ways to limit exposure with measures like giving miners quality respirators or limiting their time exposed to silica, some of which many companies are already doing. Once posted in the Federal Register, there will be a 45-day comment period on the rules. For NPR News, I'm Justin Hicks in Louisville.

(SOUNDBITE OF MARK ORTON'S "GOSSIP/BROWNIE'S PIE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Justin Hicks
[Copyright 2024 LPM News]

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.