US miners' union head calls House Republican effort to block silica dust rule an 'attack' on workers

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The caput of the nationalist excavation workers’ national connected Friday condemned what helium characterized arsenic an effort by House Republicans to artifact enforcement of a long-awaited national rule directed astatine curbing workers' vulnerability to poisonous, deadly stone dust, calling it “a nonstop onslaught connected the wellness manus information of ember miners.”

United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts said a fund proviso — approved by a U.S. House subcommittee Thursday — prohibiting the Department of Labor from utilizing backing to enforce a silica particulate regularisation operators indispensable beryllium successful compliance with adjacent twelvemonth is “morally reprehensible” and that the enactment "undermines the principles of fairness and justness that our state stands for.”

“It is hard for maine to recognize however definite members of Congress could perchance beryllium supportive of much miners dying a suffocating decease arsenic a effect of being forced to respire this dust,” Roberts said successful a statement.

Silicosis, commonly referred to arsenic black lung, is an occupational pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica particulate contiguous successful minerals similar sandstone. Finalized successful April by Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration regularisation cuts by fractional the permissible vulnerability bounds for crystalline silica for an eight-hour shift.

The regularisation is successful enactment with vulnerability levels imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration connected operation and different non-mining industries. And it’s the modular The Centers for Disease Control was recommending arsenic acold backmost arsenic 1974. The U.S. Department of Labor began studying silica and its interaction connected workers’ wellness successful the 1930s, but the absorption connected stopping vulnerability successful the workplace mostly bypassed ember miners.

Su said successful April that it is “unconscionable” America's miners person been forced to enactment without the protections for truthful long: “We’re making it wide that nary occupation should beryllium a decease sentence."

The achromatic lung occupation has lone grown successful caller years arsenic miners excavation done much layers of stone to get to little accessible coal, generating deadly silica particulate successful the process. Silica particulate is 20 times much toxic than ember particulate and causes terrible forms of achromatic lung illness adjacent aft a fewer years of exposure.

The accrued drilling has meant that terrible forms of the illness are being identified adjacent among younger Appalachian miners, immoderate successful their 30s and 40s. An estimated 1 successful 5 tenured miners successful Central Appalachia has achromatic lung disease; 1 successful 20 has the astir disabling signifier of achromatic lung.

On Thursday, the House subcommittee did not statement the measure containing the silica particulate regularisation enforcement artifact earlier advancing it. A spokesperson for Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee Chair U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican representing Alabama, did not instrumentality an email petition for remark Friday. Neither did the National Mining Association, which represents operators.

Mine information advocates are scrambling to conscionable with lawmakers earlier the measure is scheduled to spell earlier the afloat House Appropriations Committee connected July 10. It would person to beryllium greenlit by that committee earlier going to the afloat chamber.

Quenton King, national legislative specializer for Appalachian Voices, a nonprofit that advocated for the silica particulate rule, said the extortion is indispensable to protecting not lone ember miners successful cardinal Appalachia, but metallic and nonmetal miners crossed the country. If allowed to beryllium enforced, it volition assistance prevention thousands of lives, helium said.

“To willfully forestall MSHA from doing that would virtually beryllium sidesplitting miners," helium said.

West Virginia Attorney Sam Petsonk, who has represented ember miners who were diagnosed with achromatic lung aft companies violated information violations, said helium sees workers each time who person less than 10 years of mining acquisition diagnosed with extremity stage, fatal silicosis.

“This is simply a argumentation determination by the full Republican enactment enactment to propulsion America’s miners to the dogs," helium said. "It’s insulting and truly unfair to our communities for them to bash this to us. And it’s surely inconsistent with the thought that the Republicans are trying to assistance ember miners and ember mining communities.”