ENERGY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The head of the U.S. federal agency in charge of mine safety said on Thursday [6-20-19] he has no plans to fast-track new limits for coal miner exposure to silica dust because he believes exposure rates are already falling. The comments come as the national coal miners and steel workers unions urge the Trump administration to regulate silica on the basis of research showing it is causing a resurgence of black lung disease among coal miners in central Appalachia here…Government research and reports from black lung disease clinics in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky show the incidence of black lung rebounding despite improved safety measures adopted decades ago that had almost eradicated the progressive respiratory disease.”
–Valerie Volcovici, “U.S. mine regulator says no rush on silica limits, despite black lung worries,” Reuters, June 20, 2019 12:50 pm