Meeting Today Centers on Coal Dust and Black Lung Disease

Federal regulators are holding a stakeholders meeting in Raleigh County on a new coal dust rule this morning at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beaver. The rule went into effect in August 2014 and is part of the Labor Department’s effort to end black lung disease caused by prolonged exposure to coal mine dust. By Feb. 1, 2016, continuous personal dust monitors must be used to monitor occupations exposed to the highest concentrations and all miners with evidence of black lung. Increased sampling frequency provisions are to go into effect at the same time.