CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) \u2014 A half-century ago, the nation\u2019s top health experts urged the federal agency in charge of mine safety to adopt strict rules protecting miners from poisonous rock dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inaction since \u2014 fueled by denials and lobbying<\/u><\/a> from coal and other industries \u2014 has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of miners from pneumoconiosis, more commonly known as \u201cblack lung.\u201d<\/u><\/a> The problem has only grown in recent years as miners dig through more layers of rock to get to less accessible coal, generating deadly silica dust in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One former regulator called the lack of protection from silica-related illnesses \u201cstunning\u201d and one of the most \u201ccatastrophic\u201d occupational health failures in U.S. history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has proposed a rule that would cut the current limit for silica exposure by half \u2014 a major victory for safety advocates. But there is skepticism and concern about the government following through after years of broken promises and delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n James Bounds, a retired coal miner from Oak Hill, West Virginia, said nothing can be done to reverse the debilitating illness he was diagnosed with at 37 in 1984. But he doesn\u2019t want others to suffer the same fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u201cIt\u2019s not going to help me \u2014 I\u2019m through mining,\u201d said Bounds, 75, who now uses supplemental oxygen to breathe. \u201cBut we don\u2019t want these young kids breathing like we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rule, published in the Federal Register this month, cuts the permissible exposure limit for silica dust from 100 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for an 8-hour shift in coal, metal and nonmetal mines such as sand and gravel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The proposal is in line with exposure levels imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on construction and other non-mining industries. And it\u2019s the standard the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was recommending as far back as 1974<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Silicosis is an occupational pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust present in minerals like sandstone. The U.S. Department of Labor began studying silica and its impact on workers\u2019 health in the 1930s, but the focus on stopping exposure in the workplace largely bypassed coal miners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, regulations centered on coal dust<\/u><\/a>, a separate hazard created by crushing or pulverizing coal rock that also contributes to black lung.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the decades since, silica dust has become a major problem as Appalachian miners cut through layers of sandstone to reach less accessible coal seams in mountaintop mines where coal closer to the surface has long been tapped. Silica dust is 20 times more toxic than coal dust and causes severe forms of black lung disease even after a few years of exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An estimated one in five tenured miners in Central Appalachia has black lung disease; one in 20 has the most disabling form of black lung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miners are also being diagnosed at younger ages \u2014 some in their 30s and others with the advanced kind in their 40s. \u201cThat\u2019s just nuts,\u201d said Dr. Carl Werntz, a West Virginia physician who conducts black lung examinations and described cases as \u201cskyrocketing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts said there\u2019s no reason a 35-year-old miner should be diagnosed with a disease \u201cthat\u2019s going to cost him his life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNobody should be dying because of a job they have,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The federal mine safety agency\u2019s existing silica standards were developed in the 1970s, around the time of the U.S. Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris Williamson, assistant labor secretary for mine safety and health, said the proposed rule would protect miners\u2019 health. \u201cMiners should never be forced to choose between preserving their health and providing for themselves and their families,\u2033 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n West Virginia University law professor Pat McGinley, who was part of a state team investigating the 2010 Upper Big Branch mining disaster that killed 29 miners, called the resurgence of black lung \u201cunparalleled\u201d when it comes to occupational health failures. In the Upper Big Branch mine, 71% of the 24 miners who received autopsies were found to have black lung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t think of any occupation where there has been such devastation that\u2019s been ignored\u201d by corporations and the government, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s stunning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new rule<\/u><\/a> is supported by Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, who pushed for the change and released a joint statement saying protecting miners from \u201cdangerous levels of silica cannot wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mine Safety and Health Administration will be collecting comments on the proposal through Aug. 28, with a final rule expected next year. Three hearings scheduled in Arlington, Virginia, Beckley, West Virginia, and Denver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One issue expected to come up: the use of respiratory protection equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Mining Association, which represents mine operators, wants workers to be permitted to use respirators as a method of compliance with the rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese are recognized industrial hygiene practices utilized by\u2033 federal regulators in other industries, \u201cbut not in mining,\u2033 spokesman Conor Bernstein said, adding that better ventilation controls, safety awareness and regulations on coal dust have all contributed to \u201dexponentially lower dust levels\u201d inside U.S. mines in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mine workers\u2019 union and others, however, say respirators are ineffective while performing heavy labor in hot, confined spaces common in mines. The proposed rule allows for the use of respirators on a temporary basis while operators are implementing engineering controls. But advocates say inspectors aren\u2019t present often enough to ensure they don\u2019t become a permanent solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe history of miner safety and health enforcement teaches us that exceptions become the rule,\u201d said Sam Petsonk, a West Virginia attorney who represented miners who were diagnosed with black lung after operators knowingly violated regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The proposed rule also includes a provision that allows companies to self-report silica levels. Federal inspectors conduct spot checks to ensure accuracy, but mine operators still have leeway to manipulate reporting data, said Willie Dodson, Central Appalachian field coordinator for Appalachian Voices, an advocacy group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ideally, federal inspectors should take samples day after day in a given mine to determine compliance, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n