Agencies Seek Presentations for Workshop on Silica Exposure in Mining

NIOSH and MSHA have issued a call for presentations for an upcoming virtual workshop on silica exposure and lung disease in the mining industry. The event will be held by the NIOSH-MSHA Respirable Mine Dust Partnership Oct. 22–23, 2020, through the Zoom videoconferencing platform. The draft agenda for the workshop outlines sessions that will focus on respirable dust and silica exposure in mining; recent studies of respirable disease among miners related to exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS); collecting, measuring, and analyzing RCS samples; and technologies to reduce miners' exposure to RCS. Individuals who are interested in presenting at the workshop are asked to provide a brief synopsis of their proposed presentations by Aug. 19, 2020. Contact information for staff handling the call for presentations is available on NIOSH’s webpage for the workshop.

NIOSH and MSHA announced earlier this year that they had chartered a joint initiative to address rising cases of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis and progressive massive fibrosis among coal miners. The purpose of the Respirable Mine Dust Partnership is to help NIOSH and MSHA promote mine workers’ health by providing a forum to review existing literature and scientific studies; make recommendations to help reduce miners’ exposure to RCS; and identify and address research gaps. More information about the partnership, including slides from its first meeting on Feb. 5, 2020, can be found on the MSHA website.