Minnesota, March 10, 2008 - Following the reduction of permissible exposure limits for asbestos by the Mining Safety and Health Administration, two mines in Minnesota’s Iron Range may now face penalties as a result of failure to comply with the new regulations.

The MSHA published the new regulations, which cover metal, nonmetal, and underground coal mines, on February 29, 2008. The regulations reduce the asbestos permissible exposure limit in these locations from two fibers per cubic centimeter to just 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter, in line with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure limit that has protected all other types of workers since 1994.

The new MSHA regulations are good news for miners, but not so good for two mines in northern Minnesota, which may fail to comply with the new permissible exposure limit.

Since 2003, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has identified a total of five US Mines-including two in Minnesota-that are operating above the new asbestos permissible exposure limits.

Under the new MSHA rule, which takes effect on April 29, 2008, federal regulators will be able to order mining companies to reduce dust levels in their operations, if tests show levels of airborne asbestos above the new 0.1 fiber limit.

In the past, mine regulators asked mining companies to comply with the limits voluntarily. This was the case in the Northshore Mining ore plant at Silver Bay, Minnesota. Asbestos fibers have been detected in the location repeatedly since 2003, according to the results of federal tests. Another Northshore mine in Babbitt, Minnesota was also found to have airborne asbestos following testing. In both cases, the levels are above permissible exposure limits set by the new MSHA rule.

According to Northshore spokesperson Dana Byrne, the company puts the safety of its employees first, and has installed new protective equipment, including dust collectors, to safeguard its workers.

Byrne has also said that the fibers found in air samples taken at Northshore facilities are not asbestos. In addition, Byrne has indicated that Northshore Mining may challenge federal regulator testing methods if future federal tests show Northshore Mining’s asbestos levels to be above permissible exposure limits.

Minnesota miners are at higher risk than most other occupational groups of developing mesothelioma, a rare and highly aggressive asbestos-related cancer. New state-funded studies will be carried out over the next few years in an attempt to pinpoint the exact cause of the high rate of mesothelioma among this occupational group.

Meanwhile, the new MSHA regulations provide Minnesota workers with an extra level of safety. Mines that exceed the new permissible exposure limit will be issued with a citation, and workers will be ordered to wear respirators. Federal regulators can also issue fines, and order companies that violate the new rule to install additional dust-collection and air-ventilation equipment.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Jobsite Exposure, Minnesota. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.