Washington — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has prolonged till Sept. 11 the comment period for a proposed rule on employee publicity to respirable crystalline silica.
On July 13, MSHA revealed a proposed rule that might decrease the permissible publicity restrict for silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an 8-hour time-weighted common. The proposed PEL is half the earlier restrict and an identical to the PEL OSHA established in 2016.
Workers can inhale silica mud throughout operations together with mining, reducing, sawing, drilling, or crushing supplies similar to rock and stone. Crystalline silica can harm lung tissue and result in black lung illness, continual obstructive pulmonary illness or incurable silicosis.
OSHA estimates that 2.3 million employees are uncovered to silica mud yearly.
