Key Republican Calls for Changes to Mine Safety Silica Rule

An influential Republican lawmaker wants the agency in charge of ensuring the safety of mine workers to revise a Biden-era regulation that protects miners from breathable silica dust.

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), the top Republican on the Education and the Workforce Committee, pushed the US Mine Safety and Health Administration to amend a final rule in a letter obtained by Bloomberg Law.

The regulation cut in half the “permissible exposure limit” for silica dust, from 100 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 50 micrograms during a work shift. Employers are required to start taking some protective measures when silica ...