Alexandria, VA – National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association President & CEO Michael Johnson issued the following statement on today’s release of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) final rule reducing silica dust exposure.

“Though this final rule extended the compliance date to two years, we are greatly disappointed that our input during the comment period was disregarded, and this rule does not incorporate provisions of the recently adopted OSHA silica standard. Our members now have the challenge of complying with the highly prescriptive MSHA silica standard while also complying with the OSHA requirements at many sites. We will continue working with our aggregate members to advance the cause of worker health and safety and assist members in helping them understand and comply with the new MSHA rules.  We will continue to vocalize our concerns about necessary improvements to this rule.”