MSHA intensifying spotlight on silica awareness

The Mine Safety & Health Administration earlier this year launched a silica enforcement initiative to better protect miners. Photo: iStock.com/Nikola Nastasic

The Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA), through a new health campaign, will conduct enforcement and outreach efforts to ensure miners working in potentially dangerous environments take precautions to limit exposures to silica and other dangerous toxins.

By way of the new Miner Health Matters campaign, MSHA personnel will continue to directly communicate with miners about their rights and the importance of protecting their health when opportunities arise.

MSHA, for example, plans to publish a proposed rule to better protect miners from exposure to respirable crystalline silica and update existing respiratory-protection standards. In a similar vein, MSHA earlier this year launched a silica enforcement initiative to better protect miners from health hazards related to repeated overexposures of silica. The initiative includes inspections, sampling, compliance assistance and direct conversations with miners about their rights to report health hazards.

MSHA also plans to address COVID-19 risks through the Miner Health Matters campaign, especially in underground mines and in places where miners travel, work closely and without adequate ventilation.