Aug. 18—That we are well into the 21st century and yet have no Mine Safety and Health Administration rule to regulate silica dust in coal mines, is preposterous. Crystalline silica, of course, is a leading cause of pneumoconiosis, or black lung, a dust-induced scarring lung disease that leads to the death of about 1,000 miners each year.

And, yet, it is preventable.

Data from Black Lung Clinics across Appalachia, reported by National Public Radio (NPR), and studies by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have all come to the same conclusion. The occurrence of pneumoconiosis and complicated massive pulmonary fibrosis is being diagnosed in unprecedented numbers. Yes, there is a resurgence of black lung among coal miners, who are being diagnosed at younger ages than their predecessors due to mining low coal and increasing the amount of silica-rich sandstone they have to dig through to reach what remains.

A proposed rule would put in place a separate exposure limit for silica dust, cut the maximum exposure limit to 50 micrograms per cubic meter for a full shift and create an "action level" for when exposure comes at 25 micrograms per cubic meter for a full shift.

But the proposal has weaknesses. There isn't a proper enforcement mechanism written out or penalties for operators who fail to comply with it. The rule also wouldn't change sampling procedures to track exposure levels. And the solution proposed in the rule for unsafe conditions — requiring respirators for workers where levels are elevated — is unfeasible.

At a recent hearing in Beaver conducted by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, every person who spoke was in support of strengthening the rule to protect miners, but not just from silica dust exposure. Retaliation by mine operators for speaking out about dangerous conditions, too, was also an issue.

Gary Hairston, president of the National Black Lung Association, spoke at the hearing and said he had spent almost 28 years in coal mines before being diagnosed with black lung at the age of 48. It was an open secret then as it is now, he said, that if workers truthfully report results or attempt to blow the whistle on fraudulent practices, they will lose their jobs. Oftentimes, he said, those jobs are the best paying in their region. Unemployment isn't an option.

But strengthening the proposed rule would at least give miners the same protections that have been afforded to workers in other industries for nearly half a century.

And once the protections were in place, more would be encouraged to step forward to speak the truth about what is happening in their mines and operators would be held accountable.