Once the rule is published a 45-day comment period will start. MSHA will hold three public meetings: one at headquarters in Arlington, one in Denver, and one that will be virtual. MSHA will then analyze the comments and prepare a final rule.
The proposal is over 400 pages long, however, key provisions include:
- Lowering of the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) from 100 µg/m3 to 50 µg/m3
- Exposure sampling
- Medical surveillance
- Mine operators will be required to install, use, and maintain feasible engineering and administrative controls to keep each miner’s exposure to respirable crystalline silica at or below the PEL
- Rotation of miners to keep each miner’s exposure below the PEL will be prohibited
- The use of respiratory protection equipment would not be accepted as a method of compliance
- The adoption of a “Table 1” similar to OSHA’s silica standard for construction, was not included in MSHA’s proposed rule
- MSHA has proposed to incorporate by reference ASTM F3387-19, “Standard Practice for Respiratory Protection,” which allows for the use of respirators in limited situations, on a temporary basis to supplement engineering and administrative controls
[View source.]