After the Biden administration released a new rule setting standards to limit exposure to silica dust, Appalachian advocates argued it is not enough to stem the region s black lung epidemic. The new rule shrinks in half the allowed exposure limit for crystalline silica during an eight-hour shift. Rebecca Shelton, director of policy for the Appalachian Citizens Law Center, who represents miners in federal black lung disability claims, said while the rule is beneficial since silica dust exposure standards have not been updated in decades, miners are cutting through increasing amounts of rock to get to coal seams, breathing in more and more toxic dust. .
The North Carolina Utilities Commission is giving residents a chance to voice their opinion on a plan which could influence how their electricity is generated and impact costs for years to come. The state is updating its Carbon Plan, and in it Duke Energy is proposing a large-scale expansion of a methane gas plant. The expansion is raising concerns among residents and environmental advocates. .
Some miner advocacy groups have criticized the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration s new rule aimed at reducing miner exposure to toxic silica dust as too weak. They say the rule relies too much on good-faith involvement from coal mine operators with a history of sampling violations.
UK’s delegation at the meeting represented a multidisciplinary group of researchers from the colleges of Nursing, Public Health, Medicine, the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and the UK Markey Cancer Center.