"OSHA Set To Issue Silica Rule"

"The Labor Department is preparing to issue controversial silica protections for workers.

After years of delay, the Labor Department could finalize the silica rules as early as this week, after they were quietly approved by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday.

One source speculated the Labor Department will announce the silica rule on Thursday.

The final rules have not yet been revealed to the public, but the proposed regulation called for manufacturers to cut in half workers’s exposure to silica dust, which has been linked to cancer.

The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is facing criticism from all sides — unions, industry, and workplace safety and health groups — over the silica rule."

Tim Devaney reports for The Hill March 22, 2016.