UPDATE:Mine Safety Administration Steps Up Measures To Curb Black Lung
03 Dezember 2009 - 7:19PM
Dow Jones News
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration announced
plans Thursday to step up efforts to reduce black lung disease
among coal miners by increasing enforcement and regulation.
Driving the new efforts by federal officials are increases in
mine-related lung disease after decades of declines. Black lung is
a common name for coal workers' pneumoconiosis and other
respiratory diseases that develop by inhaling coal dust while
working in underground mines.
Joseph Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and
health, during a conference call Thursday declined to discuss
details of any new regulations, saying the work hasn't yet been
made public. The administration, however, did say it is looking at
past recommendations, including lowering coal mine dust exposure
levels and creating separate exposure levels for coal mine dust and
silica. The new rules could address air-quality sampling
requirements and calculation methods for dust levels as well. The
administration is already at working on ramping up the use of more
advanced monitoring equipment.
"We will use all the tools necessary to control dust in coal
mines and reduce the risk of disease to our nation's coal miners,"
said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, whose department oversees the
mine safety and health administration, in a statement.
The coal industry has faced a push back already on the
environmental issues from the Obama administration, particularly
around the issue of surface mining in Appalachia. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency also is moving forward on limits on
carbon dioxide emissions, which is expected to curb the use of coal
in the U.S.
On black lung, a spokesman for the National Mining Association
said the industry is monitoring the issue and awaiting more
details. A spokesman for the United Mine Workers of America said in
an interview before the announcement its members are pushing for
stricter limits on maximum allowable dust levels and stepped up
enforcement.
The administration said it plans to increase the focus of
inspectors on coal mine dust, including reviewing mines'
ventilation plans and training provided to mine workers on black
lung.
Federal legislation passed in the late-1960s aimed to eliminate
black lung among U.S. miners. The regulations led to a very sharp
drop in the disease between 1970 and 2000, but since then it has
begun to rise again among miners with 20 or more years in the
industry, according to federal health statistics
"That reduction seems to have hit a wall around the year 2000,"
said Dr. Gregory Wagner, a deputy assistant secretary at the
administration, during the conference call.
Main said it is too early to provide a cost estimate for any new
regulations since the proposed rules haven't even been released
publicly. Black lung cases are most common in the Central and
Northern Appalachia regions. Leading mining companies in the basins
include Massey Energy Co. (MEE), Consol Energy Inc. (CNX) and
Patriot Coal Corp. (PCX) among others.
-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2457;
mark.peters@dowjones.com
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