April 7, 2025 - A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a rule to limit silica dust exposure for coal miners.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s silica dust rule was supposed to take effect on April 14.

Last week, though, the National Sand, Stone and Gravel Association sought an emergency stay of the rule in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.

Federal Mine Safety Chief Christopher Williamson addresses a crowd gathered in Arlington, Virginia, on Aug. 3, 2023, for a public hearing on proposed silica dust regulations. Williamson is the first mine safety chief to directly address overexposure to toxic silica dust.

On Friday, the court granted a temporary administrative stay.

The rule was aimed at reducing miner inhalation of silica dust, which has been shown to worsen cases of black lung disease and cause an earlier onset of the disease in younger miners.

The rule would cut in half the amount of silica dust that can be in the air during an eight-hour shift. The mining industry claimed it could not economically meet the requirements of the rule.

Though the rule was supposed to apply to coal operators in days, metal and nonmetal mine operators had another year to comply.