The Bush administration, which has already delayed strong, new health protections for miners, is considering further weakening those standards as it prepares revised rules regulating miners' exposure to underground diesel fumes.
Workers breathe in diesel exhaust from machines used to extract metals and non-metals in the confined spaces of underground mines. Numerous studies show that exposure to such fumes at current levels causes 83 to 800 excess lung cancer deaths per 1,000 workers each year. Other studies show that inhaling diesel particulate matter causes cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary problems. [1]
Under the Clinton administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) developed strict new rules reducing the concentration of diesel particulate matter to which workers could be exposed. When the final rule was issued in 2001, mine operators were given a year and a half to make modest reductions in the amount of diesel exhaust workers were exposed to in their mines. They were given six years to make more substantial reductions.
But the Bush administration extended the deadline for modest reductions by a full year -- an act that was illegal under the Administrative Procedure Act and MSHA's own statute, because the agency failed to hold a public comment period before making the change. [2] Last year, the administration further weakened protections for miners by reopening the rulemaking process and issuing a compliance document that allowed mine operators to all but ignore the tougher diesel standards if they had any difficulty in meeting them. [3]
"It says 'you don't have to ask for an extension, just mention it to the inspector the next time he shows up,'" said Celeste Monforton, senior research associate in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, School of Public Health and Health Services at George Washington University, in an interview with BushGreenwatch. "What's the point of having a rule if you can just basically make the rule go away?"
MSHA is in the process of preparing a final rule on the issue, but it's unclear when the rule will be issued or what protections it will contain. "If anything, the rule should be even more stringent," said Monforton.
While the Clinton administration sought to steadily increase MSHA's budget and hire more mine inspectors, President Bush has held spending level or cut spending on mine safety enforcement. Congress, however, has regularly appropriated more than President Bush has requested for the agency.
Notwithstanding the increased appropriations, the Bush administration has done little to strengthen health and safety protections for miners. The few regulations proposed by the administration have mostly weakened those protections.
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SOURCES:
[1] "Part III: Risk Assessment," Diesel Particulate Matter Exposure of Underground Metal and Nonmetal Miners, Final Rule. Federal Register 66 (13): Jan. 19, 2001.
[2] Federal Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977 (Public Law 91-173), section 101(a)(9).
[3] "Metal and Nonmetal Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) Standard Compliance Guide" (Final Version, August 5, 2003), p. 6.
