Washington — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is pressing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore NIOSH’s offices and programs that focus on coal miner safety and health.
Capito chairs the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. In an April 21 letter to Kennedy, she writes:
“The NIOSH Mining Program works to eliminate mining fatalities and injuries. Research on rock dust has resulted in safety changes to prevent explosions in underground mines. NIOSH research has also resulted in industry standards for pillar design and roof support programs to prevent collapses in underground mines.
“NIOSH’s Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program studies respiratory disease and provides black lung screenings to coal miners. It is my understanding that the HHS’ reduction in force impacted every employee in these important programs.”
Capito also highlights the work in Morgantown, WV, that aided safety and health in other industries and other areas of the country.
“This research stands not just to make the mining industry safer but also to benefit workers exposed to silica dust at construction sites and residents in West Virginia and North Carolina impacted by the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene,” she writes. “Decommissioning the labs will cost millions of taxpayer dollars. If the labs were to later be brought back online, additional taxpayer dollars would be spent to re-comply with numerous regulations and inspections.
“I believe in the president’s vision to right size our government, but I do not think eliminating the NIOSH coal programs and research will accomplish that goal.”
Overall, HHS is reportedly cutting roughly two-thirds of NIOSH’s 1,000-plus employees.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication