September 10, 2025 - State Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jessica Shirley sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week, asking him not to eliminate mine safety research positions at a Pittsburgh-area federal facility.

“The loss of the [Pittsburgh Research Lab] facility and its subject matter experts would not be in the best interest of miner’s health and safety,” Shirley’s letter said. “Pennsylvania has a long legacy of mining – stretching back hundreds of years – and we owe it to our mine workers, their families, and mining communities to ensure their safety and continue this critical research.”

The letter was first reported by Fox 43, a central Pennsylvania television station.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employed roughly 300 employees working out of a campus in Bruceton, Allegheny County, before federal job cuts began at the beginning of the year.

The campus is also home to the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, formerly referred to as the Pittsburgh Research Lab, how Shirley identifies it. Its workers study the best ways to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses in mines and currently employs dozens of federal workers. 

The facility is also home to the National Personal Protective Technology Lab, which certifies the nation’s NIOSH-approved respirators.

Lilas Soukup, president of AFGE 1916, the local chapter of the federal employees union representing Pittsburgh’s NIOSH workers, said the exact number of employees still working at the Bruceton NIOSH campus is hard to pin down. She said she’s unsure how many employees resigned, took buyouts or early retirement offers. Since the Trump administration moved to stop recognizing federal collective bargaining contracts at HHS, the agency has stopped sharing certain information about employees with the union, Soukup added.

As it stands, virtually all employees of the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division have been given what’s called a “Reduction In Force” notice, meaning their positions are slated to be eliminated. However, in a lawsuit filed in a federal District Court in Rhode Island, a judge ordered HHS to halt layoffs for the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division and other parts of the agency until the case is resolved.

Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for HHS did not answer direct questions about their plans for the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, but said in a statement, “the Trump Administration is committed to supporting miners, and under the Secretary’s leadership, NIOSH’s essential services will continue as HHS streamlines its operations. Ensuring the health and safety of our workforce remains a top priority for the Department.”

Shirley said in her letter that the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Bureau of Mine Safety collaborates with the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division to keep Pennsylvania’s roughly 3,000 miners safe.

“[The Pittsburgh Research Lab] and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mine Safety have routinely worked collaboratively and cooperatively for many years, to provide training, best practices and tools to aid the mining industry,” Shirley wrote. “The Bureau believes the permanent closure of the PRL facility is cause for concern.” 

Brendan Demich, a NIOSH employee speaking in his capacity as vice president of AFGE 1916, said collaborative work includes training mine rescue teams through a virtual reality program developed by his team, and simulating rescues at their on-site research mine. The underground research mine, Demich said, is the only one of its kind operated by the U.S. government.

Demich said members of his team at NIOSH were also researching best practices to keep miners safe in mines near gas wells, which he said was intended to be shared with DEP.

For months, workers at the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division have faced an uncertain future amid the Trump administration’s efforts to slash and reshape the federal workforce. While all are on administrative leave, some have been called back or continued to come into work.

Slated cuts to mine safety workers have caught the attention of lawmakers from both parties, who have grilled Sec. Kennedy on them at hearings on Capitol Hill.

In June, all seven Democratic members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation signed onto a letter opposing plans to cut mine safety research jobs in Pittsburgh.