MSHA silica-rule deadlines paused for court review

The MSHA, or the Mine Safety and Health Administration, has announced that the enforcement of the silica rule will be paused, pending a judicial review. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a pause on the silica rule. The court granted a temporary stay of the rule, which aims to protect miners from the harmful chemicals and emissions that mining presents. For generations, miners have been subjected to the horrible black lung disease that is a direct result of working underground in the sector.

A petition from the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association has led to the pause

The order to pause the temporary enforcement of the silica rule is wrapped up in legal tape. The rule is designed to ensure a safe work environment for miners; however, the court has ordered a temporary pause on the rule while it considers the petition put forward by the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association. The rule states that mine operators need to lower the permissible exposure limit for respirable crystalline silica.

That permissible exposure limit is 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an 8-hour time-weighted average, which is half the previous requirement. The new PEL is the same as the one OSHA established in 2016. The rule also required increased silica sampling and enforcement at metal and non-metal mines, as well as ordering mine operators to provide periodic health exams at no cost to the workers.

Originally, mine operators were given a 14 April deadline to meet the requirements set out by the rule; however, the enforcement of the rule has been paused thanks to the petition filed with the courts. A Department of Labor spokesperson stated that MSHA “will continue to temporarily pause enforcement of the requirements in the silica rule for mine operators until the litigation is concluded.”

A status update on the implementation of the rule has been set for October

The court stated that an update on the status was coming soon, on 10 October to be exact. Until then, the enforcement of the silica rule has been paused. However, several associations have raised concerns over what the effect of pausing the rule might have. Multiple studies have recently found that pneumoconiosis, or black lung, is on the rise for mine workers who are exposed to the dust in coal mines.

The inevitable result of the rule pause has been that several workers’ rights unions and organizations have raised their concerns. The rule is designed to ensure the health of the miners, so it was always going to happen that unions would be up in arms over the pause. The coal sector in the United States has seen a significant boost from the federal government.

“The development is simply a death sentence for more miners. The Department of Labor and MSHA should be fighting to implement this rule immediately, not kicking enforcement down the road yet again. Every day they delay, more miners get sick, and more miners die. That’s the truth”  – United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts

“Right now, miners are being put in danger and being exposed to deadly levels of dust. It doesn’t take long for silica dust exposure to take a toll; a few months of high exposure can make a person sick.” – Rebecca Shelton, director of policy for the advocacy organization Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center

How will the rule pause affect the energy sector in the United States

The courts stated that an update was coming in October. In the meantime, what effect might the pausing of the rule have on the mine workers who are now forced to work in dangerous conditions without the support of the rule that aims to ensure a safe working environment? The energy sector in the United States is in the middle of a policy shift, which has been noticeable in the coal sector in particular. The BLM has announced the auction of several crucial coal leases in the past few months.