One year later: Is respirable coal dust rule is working?
MSHA’s Main says industry compliance is at 99 percent
One year ago this month, the landmark respirable dust rule went into effect, adding a number of increased protections for coal miners and closing several loopholes that masked their exposure to unhealthy coal mine dust.
The respirable dust rule is the culmination of the Department of Labor’s End Black Lung – Act Now Campaign, which began in late 2009 and called renewed attention to a disease that has caused or contributed to the deaths of 76,000 coal miners since 1968.