U.S. Labor Dept. renews push to end silicosis

Engineering and Mining Journal, Jan 1998

With the help of 60 industry, labor, government, and professional organizations, the U.S. Labor Department aims to put new informational materials on preventing silicosis into the hands of 250K U.S. workers at risk for this lung disease.

The planned educational push continues a national campaign to eliminate silicosis launched a year ago by the Labor Department's Mine Safety and Health Administration and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, along with the National Institute of Health and Human Services and the American Lung Association.

Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said the campaign's co-sponsors will ask 60 organizations that participated in a national "best practices" conference on silicosis prevention earlier this year to distribute new pocket cards for high-risk occupations, booklets in both English and Spanish, information on best practices, and other educational materials. In the coming months, plans call for reaching at least 250K workers in construction, mining, and other high-risk industries with specific information that can help workers take steps to protect themselves from silicosis.