Health

MSHA Health Alert: Respirable Crystalline Silica

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On April 18, 2024, MSHA issued its final rule, Lowering Miners’ Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica and Improving Respiratory Protection, to reduce miner exposures to respirable crystalline silica and improve respiratory protection for all airborne hazards. Some updated resources appear below.

Important Dates:

  • The final rule will take effect on June 17, 2024.
  • Coal mine operators are required to be compliant by April 14, 2025
  • MNM mine operators are required to be compliant by April 8, 2026

The Final Rule:

  • Establishes a uniform permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 micrograms per cubicmeter of air (μg/m3) and action level of 25 μg/m3 for all mines.
  • Uniform requirements for monitoring and controlling respirable crystalline silicaRequires medical surveillance at MNM mines, modeled after existing requirements forcoal mines.
  • Updates the existing respiratory protection requirements to the ASTM F3387-19Standard.

Resources

Safety in Cold Weather Alert

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Cold weather can cause cold stress, which can lead to hypothermia, frostbite, and other severe injuries, and illnesses.

Best Practices

  • Monitor your physical condition and that of your coworkers.
  • Wear appropriate clothing.
  • Wear clothing that allows a full range of motion necessary for the tasks of the work.
  • Move into warm locations during breaks.
  • Include chemical hot packs in your first aid kit.
  • Avoid touching cold metal surfaces with bare skin.

In addition, some portable heaters can emit deadly carbon monoxide (CO).  CO is odorless and colorless and can accumulate in confined spaces and enclosed areas such as the cabs of vehicles, work trailers, and unventilated areas.  Exposure to 200 parts per million of CO for 15 minutes can cause disorientation, unconsciousness and eventual death.

Best Practices

  • Maintenance of fuel-burning equipment and vehicles is crucial. Vehicle exhaust systems need to be regularly inspected for leaks or other damage.
  • Monitors and audible alarm systems should be in place wherever CO is a potential hazard. Use portable CO detectors as necessary.
  • Properly ventilate work areas. The ventilation system should be designed and maintained to remove contaminants from the mine atmosphere.
  • Maintain travelways and keep them free of ice and debris.

Click here for MSHA Alert.

Silica Rule Proposed Change

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The U.S. Department of Labor on June 30 announced a proposal by its Mine Safety and Health Administration to amend current federal standards to better protect the nation’s miners from health hazards related to exposure to respirable crystalline silica, or silica dust. The proposed rule change will ensure miners have at least the same level of protections as workers in other industries.

Click here for MSHA Silica Rulemaking page with links to proposed rule.

MSHA Issues Heat Stress Alert (Again)

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It’s as regular as the seasons, HEAT, and as it arrives MSHA alerts us about related health issues. “Mining in hot work areas during summer can cause serious health issues for miners. Everyone needs to recognize the hazards of heat stress and mine operators should provide heat-stress recognition training, monitoring, and personal protective equipment,” says MSHA.

The latest alert contains advice on symptoms and what to do or NOT do to treat them. Most importantly it also says this about Preventing Heat Stress:

  • Provide cool drinking water near miners.
  • Encourage miners to drink a cup of water every 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Avoid drinks with caffeine and large amounts of sugar.
  • Use sunblockers, proper protective clothing and shade.
  • Use administrative controls to rotate miners on hot jobs.
  • Schedule heavy tasks during cooler times of the day.

Download the full alert (pdf) here.

Enclosed Cabs Health Alert

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Operator Booths, Control Rooms, Enclosed Cabs

A properly designed and maintained operator booth, control room, and enclosed cab can reduce miners’ exposure to respirable dust, including silica.

Best Practices

  • Use a filtration and pressurization system that allows filtered air to enter the enclosed area.
  • Replace worn seals/gaskets around doors and windows, and patch holes and cracks in doors and windows.
  • Keep enclosure interiors clean; remove floor heaters; and use rubber floor mats instead of carpeting.
  • Keep doors and windows closed.

Click here for: Enclosed Cab Health Alert in English (pdf), or in Spanish (pdf).

It’s That Time of Year

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There’s no doubt about it. It’s HOT and Summer has actually just begun! Heat is a serious safety issue, but you can take steps to reduce the risk of serious illness. There’s a pamphlet available that you can print out and use in training workers to take the proper precautions themselves, look out for others, and provide First Aid when someone becomes ill from the heat.

Click here for: OSHA’s Prevent Heat Illness at Work pamphlet in English or Spanish (pdf).

Taking it to the Streets… and the Mines

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Two unique NIOSH programs bring vital safety and health screening directly to miners.

Mobile Hearing Tests & Health Screening Units – In 1999, the NIOSH Mining Program expanded its research into noise-induced hearing loss by developing a 32-foot long trailer into a mobile laboratory. Using a sound insulated booth, NIOSH personnel can conduct hearing tests and hearing protection evaluations at mine sites. The Mobile Hearing Loss Prevention Unit has traveled to mine sites, conferences, and other community outreach activities since 1999. While the trailer is not currently in use due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we look forward to resuming visits to conferences and other mining events throughout the country to provide hearing tests and other hearing loss prevention guidance.

NIOSH also operates a mobile health screening program called the Enhanced Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program (ECWHSP). The ECWHSP, an extension of the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP), was developed in collaboration with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to reduce potential barriers to participation in the screening program and investigate the trends of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, also referred to as “black lung.” The program is staffed by trained NIOSH personnel who provide screening services to coal miners across the U.S. through two state-of-the-art mobile testing units.

Post from the NIOSH Science Blog

COVID19 Protection for Miners

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MSHA has issued guidance intended for miners and operators in coal, metal, or nonmetal mines to help them identify risks of being exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at work and to help them determine appropriate control measures to reduce such risk. This guidance contains recommendations, as well as descriptions of mandatory safety and health standards. It is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. The recommendations are advisory in nature, informational in content, and are intended to assist operators in recognizing and abating hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm from the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as part of their obligation to provide a safe and healthful mine.

Operators should implement COVID-19 Prevention Programs at each mine. Operators may consider a stand-alone program or additions to existing training and education programs. The most effective programs engage miners and miner representatives in the program’s development, and include the following key elements:

  • Conducting a hazard assessment of the mine site;
  • Identifying a combination of measures that limit the spread of COVID-19 in mine settings;
  • Adopting measures to ensure that miners who are infected or potentially infected are separated and sent home from the mine; and
  • Implementing protections from retaliation for miners who raise COVID-19-related concerns.

Download the entire document here.