Federal study finds that current coal dust monitoring laws aren't enough to stem black-lung epidemic - Entrepreneur Generations

Tougher safety rules for coal miners may not be enough to stem the rising tide of new black-lung cases, according to a review of the federal government's latest efforts to keep coal miners from being exposed to dust that can cause the fatal disease.

The review, released last week by from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, "notes that coal mine operators comply with the new dust control regulations at a rate of more than 99 percent, but 'these approaches may not guarantee that exposures will be controlled adequately or that future disease rates will decline.'" Howard Berkes reports for NPR.

Mine operators need to do more than comply with federally-mandated safety requirements to lower the incidence of black-lung cases, the review finds, and says a "fundamental shift is needed in the way mine operators approach exposure control."

The rules, first imposed in 2016, require a small number of miners to wear dust-sampling devices that monitor coal dust exposure in real time but whose readings could take weeks to analyze. If the monitors discover unsafe dust levels, mine operators can boost ventilation, slow mining machines so they produce less dust, and move miners to areas with less dust. NAS found this approach inadequate since others not wearing the devices may be exposed to more dust. "Also, the new dust monitors do not provide real-time sampling of silica dust, which is created when mining machines cut into sandstone and is far more toxic than coal dust alone," Berkes repors. "Cutting sandstone has occurred more often in Central Appalachia as large coal seams are mined out and the thinner seams that remain have sandstone mixed with the coal."

The NAS recommends the development of a real-time silica dust sampling monitor. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is working on developing such a device, but already has a system that can provide silica exposure readings at the end of a miner's shift; that device is expected to be available to mining companies for voluntary use soon, Berkes reports.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2IOy6RS Federal study finds that current coal dust monitoring laws aren't enough to stem black-lung epidemic - Entrepreneur Generations

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