Black Lung Disease Rates Rising in Miners

Black lung disease, a disease that traditionally had impacted coal miners, is on the rise again after retreating in the 30 years after Congress passed harsher safety regulations. The news comes after 29 miners killed in the blast at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia were analyzed for evidence of black lung disease. Almost 75 percent of them showed signs of the deadly condition, health experts reported.

Authors of the report suggested that the rise in coal prices may lead some mine operators to cut corners on safety procedures. Inadequate ventilation systems and rock dusting standards were some of the problems contributing to black lung disease among the West Virginian miners. The report blamed mine owner Massey Energy for a commitment to production that “comes at the cost of safety.”

Coal dust is one of the main causes of lung diseases such as coal workers pneumoconiosis (CWP), emphysema, silicosis, and bronchitis. The diseases are known collectively as black lung. It can lead to lung impairment, permanent disability, and death.

Around 1,500 former coal miners die each year from it, according to data from the United Mine Workers union (UMW). There are about 130,000 coal miners in the United States today, down from a high of 760,000 in 1927, according to the Labor Department.

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