West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 56 - Miners' Health, Safety And Training › Title 56 - LEGISLATIVE RULE OFFICE OF MINERS' HEALTH, SAFETY AND TRAINING › Series 56-20 - Rules Governing the Safety of Those Employed In and Around Quarries in West Virginia › Section 56-20-25 - Diesel Particulate Matter

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
25.1. Limits on exposure.
25.1.a. A miner's personal exposure
				to diesel particulate matter (DPM) in an underground mine must not
				exceed an average eight-hour equivalent full shift airborne
				concentration of 160 micrograms of total carbon per cubic meter of
				air (160TCµg/m3).
25.1.a.1.
				If a mine requires additional time to come into compliance with the
				final DPM limit established in the rules due to technological or
				economic constraints, the operator of the mine may file an
				application with the Director for a special extension.
25.1.a.2. The mine operator must
				certify on the application that the operator has posted one (1) copy
				of the application at the mine site for at least thirty (30) days
				prior to the date of application and has provided another copy to the
				authorized representative of the miners.
25.1.a.3. No approval of a special
				extension shall exceed a period of one (1) year from the date of
				approval. Mine operators may file for additional special extensions
				provided each extension does not exceed a period of one (1) year. An
				application must include the following information:
25.1.a.3.A. Documentation
				supporting that controls are technologically or economically
				infeasible at this time to reduce the miner's exposure to the final
				DPM limit;
25.1.a.3.B.
				The most recent DPM monitoring results; and
25.1.a.3.C. The actions the
				operator will take during the extension to minimize exposure of
				miners to DPM.
25.1.a.4. A mine operator must
				comply with the terms of any approved application for a special
				extension, post a copy of the approved application for a special
				extension at the mine site for the duration of the special extension
				period and provide another copy to the authorized representative of
				the miners.
25.1.a.5. The
				mine operator must install, use, and maintain feasible engineering
				and administrative controls to reduce a miner's exposure to or below
				the DPM limit established in this section. When controls do not
				reduce a miner's DPM exposure to the limit, controls are infeasible,
				or controls do not produce significant reductions in DPM exposures,
				controls must be used to reduce the miner's exposure to as low a
				level as feasible and must be supplemented with respiratory
				protection.
25.1.a.5.A. Air
				purifying respirators must be equipped with the following:
25.1.a.5.A.1. Filters certified by
				NIOSH as a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter;
25.1.a.5.A.2. Filters certified by
				as 99.97% efficient; or
25.1.a.5.A.3. Filters certified by
				NIOSH for DPM.
25.1.a.5.B. Non-powered,
				negative-pressure, air purifying, particulate-filter respirators
				shall use an R- or P-series filter or any filter certified by NIOSH
				for DPM. An R-series filter shall not be used for longer than one (1)
				work shift.
25.1.a.6. Rotation of miners shall
				not be considered an acceptable administrative control used for
				compliance with the DPM standard.
25.1.a.7. The mine operator must
				provide a confidential medical evaluation by a physician or other
				licensed health care professional (PLHCP), at no cost to the miner,
				to determine the miner's ability to use a respirator before the miner
				is required to be fit tested or to use a respirator at the mine. If
				the PLHCP determines that the miner cannot wear a negative pressure
				respirator, the mine operator must make certain that the PLHCP
				evaluates the miner's ability to wear a powered air purifying
				respirator (PAPR).
25.1.a.7.A. The
				mine operator must provide the miner with an opportunity to discuss
				his/her evaluation results with the PLHCP before the PLHCP submits
				the written determination to the mine operator regarding the miner's
				ability to wear a respirator. If the miner disagrees with the
				evaluation results of the PLHCP, the miner may submit within thirty
				(30) days additional evidence of his/her medical condition to the
				PLHCP.
25.1.a.7.B. The
				mine operator must obtain a written determination from the PLHCP
				regarding the miner's ability to wear a respirator, and the mine
				operator must assure that the PLHCP provides a copy of the
				determination to the miner.
25.1.a.7.C. The miner must be
				reevaluated when the mine operator has reason to believe that
				conditions have changed which could adversely affect the miner's
				ability to wear the respirator.
25.1.a.7.D. Upon written
				notification that the PLHCP has determined that the miner is unable
				to wear a respirator, including a PAPR, the miner must be transferred
				to work in an existing position in an area of the same mine where
				respiratory protection is not required. The miner must be transferred
				within thirty (30) days of the final determination by the PLHCP.
25.1.a.7.D.1. The miner must
				continue to receive compensation at no less than the regular rate of
				pay in the classification held by that miner immediately prior to the
				transfer.
25.1.a.7.D.2.
				Increases in wages of the transferred miner must be based upon the
				new work classification.
25.1.a.7.D.3. The mine operator
				must maintain a record of the identity of the PLHCP and the most
				recent written determination of each miner's ability to wear a
				respirator for the duration of the miner's employment plus six (6)
				months.