Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/518784
ATTRACTIONS Coming T he Mine Safety and Health Ad- ministration's (MSHA) current standards limit exposures to quartz (crystalline silica) in re- spirable dust. The metal and non-metal min- ing industry standard is based on the 1973 American Conference of Governmental Indus- trial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values formula: 10 mg/m 3 divided by the percentage of quartz plus 2. Overexposure to crystalline silica can result in some miners developing silicosis, an ir- reversible, but preventable lung disease, which ultimately may be fatal. The formula is de- signed to limit exposures to 0.1 mg/m 3 (100 µg/ m 3 ) of silica. The National Institute for Occupa- tional Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends a 50µg/m 3 expo- sure limit for respirable crystalline silica. MSHA currently projects it will publish a proposed rule to address miners' exposure to respirable crystalline silica in October 2015. We can expect a proposed permissible expo- sure limit (PEL) of 50 µg/m³, identical to the new silica standard proposed by the Occupa- tional Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Sept. 12, 2013. OSHA's proposed rule After publishing its proposed rule on work- place exposure to respirable crystalline silica, OSHA received more than 1,700 comments from the public and testimony from over 200 stakeholders during public hearings. The agency projects that its analysis of the feedback will be completed by June 2015. MSHA has stated it intends to use OSHA's work on the health effects and risk assessment, adapting it as necessary for the mining industry. As such, a review of OSHA's proposed rule can give us insight into what MSHA's proposed rule might look like. MSHA's rule will cover both surface and underground coal and metal/non-metal mines. OSHA's proposed rule lowers the PEL to 50 micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per Christopher G. Peterson is a member of Jackson Kelly, PLLC's Denver practice. His practice is focused on occupational safety and health and mine safety and health. He can be reached at 303-390-0009 or via email at cjpeterson@ jacksonkelly.com. With OSHA's respira- ble crystalline silica rule close to being finalized, MSHA's will soon follow. The question is: what will it look like? by Christopher G. Peterson ROCK LAW • 23