By Charles Young, WV News
WASHINGTON D.C. — Issuing a new silica exposure standard is a “top priority,” said Assistant Secretary of the Mine Safety and Health Administration Christopher Williamson in a statement Tuesday.
MSHA is “working as quickly as possible to put out a proposed rule,” Williamson said.
The statement comes in response to a letter co-signed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and a group of fellow Democratic senators urging the agency to update its crystalline silica standard for coal miners.
“From the moment I became assistant secretary, I have prioritized miners’ health and listened to miners, health experts and medical providers about what happens when miners are exposed to silica at unhealthy levels,” Williamson said…
