By Danielle Smith
New data show cases of black lung disease are rising among Appalachian coal miners, especially in southwestern Virginia.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported nearly one in three working underground coal miners with a quarter of a century of experience working underground now has the disease.
Brendan Muckian-Bates, policy and advocacy associate at the Appalachian Citizens Law Center, said cases they have worked on include testimony from miners who reported being told by their employers to move or change the dust sampling equipment. He warned silica dust exposure limits and action levels are only effective if there is strong federal enforcement through mine inspections.
“Our most recent report on MSHA sampling has signaled that the amount of dust sampling that’s taking place is below where it had been in years past,” Muckian-Bates explained.
Black lung is a serious, incurable disease that gets worse over time and is caused by breathing in coal and silica dust for many years.
A regulation meant to curb black lung remains tied up in the courts
A 2024 Biden-era dust rule remains tied up in court after mining industry groups sued a key federal agency. The Trump administration, which is pursuing its own rules, declined to defend it, leaving miners under the old standard, which allows silica exposure up to 100 micrograms per cubic meter.
Muckian-Bates pointed out through Biden administration efforts, the Mine Safety and Health Administration formed stricter safety standards by lowering exposure limits for workers.
“The amount of silica dust exposure would be reduced in half, meaning that a coal miner, typically the exposure limit in a coal mine would be a hundred micrograms per cubic meter, and under the Biden-era rule, it would be cut in half,” Muckian-Bates emphasized.
He noted miners with as few as 15 years underground are now experiencing black lung rates not seen in almost 40 years, adding workers leaving their families every day for a dangerous job are protected by the agency tasked with looking after their well-being.
“In order to best protect miners, we need to ensure that the 2024 silica rule is going into effect, ensuring that miners are not needlessly exposed to higher rates of silica dust,” Muckian-Bates urged.
He stressed it is crucial miners have the necessary sampling required to hold operators accountable when they go over this limit, including instituting all the necessary engineering and ventilation controls meant to create the safest working environment possible.
