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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

OSHA Hearing Examines Silica Dust Risks in Fracking

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Monday, April 7, 2014   

CASPER, Wyo. - OSHA just wrapped up nearly three weeks of hearings on a proposed rule to limit workers' exposure to silica dust. Hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") was one of the industry exposures examined, along with general construction, masonry and foundries. Silica dust is connected to respiratory illnesses and silicosis - an incurable chronic lung disease.

Celeste Monforton, professorial lecturer, George Washington University School of Public Health, testified. She said safety regulations were first recommended back in 1974, and even this rule will take up to two years before it is put in place.

"It's really a national disgrace that we allow exposures to silica dust that are so high," Monforton said.

Those most at risk are also most vulnerable: immigrants, people who don't speak English and contract workers, she explained. Industry groups testified against the rule, saying that deaths from silicosis have declined. Monforton said it's estimated that the rule will save 700 lives a year.

Peter Dooley, health and safety project consultant for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, testified that workers often are unaware that the dust they inhale can cause lifelong disabilities.

"It's not like asbestos and lead hazards; this is a hazard that's not well-known," Dooley said.

Dan Neal, executive director, Wyoming's Equality State Policy Center, testified in favor of the rule, saying history shows that industries refuse to meet limits on their own, conduct monitoring, offer medical surveillance, or provide training.

"It leads to long-term complications that impair someone's breathing, or to lung cancer and kidney problems, among many other related diseases," Neal warned. "It's very important for workers to know that they've got to protect themselves, and that they've got a right to protect themselves."

Exposure limits mean that businesses would have to use methods to reduce dust at worksites, which can be done with water, air, vacuum systems or worker respirators. The proposed limit is 50 micrograms of silica dust per cubic meter of air space.

Details of the silica dust rule are available at https://www.osha.gov.



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