Another Silica Rule Delay is a Death Sentence for Miners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2025

Another Silica Rule Delay is a Death Sentence for Miners

[TRIANGLE, VA] The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) today condemned the U.S. Court of Appeals' decision to push back implementation of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) long-overdue Silica Rule until October. The delay stems from a lawsuit filed by the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA), an industry not even affected by the rule until 2027, while coal miners remain exposed to deadly silica dust.

"This delay is simply a death sentence for more miners," said UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts. "The fact that an industry association with no stake in coal mining can hold up lifesaving protections for coal miners is outrageous. The Department of Labor and MSHA should be fighting to implement this rule immediately, not kicking enforcement down the road yet again. Every day they delay, more miners get sick, and more miners die. That's the truth."

The Silica Rule was designed to lower the allowable level of respirable crystalline silica in mines, a toxic dust proven to cause black lung and other deadly lung diseases. Instead of fighting to put these protections in place immediately, the Department of Labor is allowing them to be delayed for the second time this year.

"This is bureaucratic cowardice, plain and simple," said UMWA International Secretary-Treasurer Brian Sanson. "We've buried too many friends, too many fathers, and too many sons because of black lung. Bowing to corporate interests doesn't solve the problem; it puts more miners at risk. The science is clear, the rule is needed, and the delay is shameful."

"Every American worker deserves to come home from work with their lungs intact, miners included," Roberts said. "It's as simple as that."