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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2000

NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION'S RESPONSE TO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR'S REVISIONS TO ITS COAL MINE DUST STANDARDS

Washington-The National Mining Association looks forward to actively participating in the Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA's) proposed revisions to its program for monitoring and controlling respirable coal mine dust. The proposal, issued today, is partly in response to an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in which NMA successfully challenged MSHA's earlier attempt to revise its program without complying with the rulemaking procedures of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act.

"Although NMA's members have not yet had the opportunity to analyze both the proposal and the several hundred pages of supporting documents, there are some innovative aspects of the new program that incorporate recommendations that mine operators have long urged the agency to adopt," stated NMA president, Richard L. Lawson. "For instance, the proposal would allow the use of air purifying respirator helmets as a means of compliance with the respirable dust standard in concert with traditional ventilation and dust control mechanisms. That is a major technological and policy breakthrough."

The proposed rule would transfer the responsibility for coal dust sampling by replacing multiple shift samples taken by mine operators with single shift samples taken by MSHA inspectors. "We still have serious reservations with regard to the accuracy of single shift sampling as a means for determining compliance with the dust standard," Lawson said. "There are complex scientific and policy issues that we intend vigorously to address in the upcoming hearings."

"Nevertheless," Lawson added, "we wholeheartedly agree with the agency that the coal industry has made great strides in reducing miners' exposure to respirable coal dust over the past several decades, and we are firmly and thoroughly dedicated to further improving the health and safety of our nation's miners."