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Black Lung is Back
It’s Always Something: Dispatches from the front lines of the battle for workplace safety
February 16, 2018
Black Lung is Back: After almost being eradicated in the late 1990, black lung is back, with a vengeance. Epidemiologists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health say they’ve identified the largest cluster of advanced black lung disease ever reported, according to an NPR story. “When I first implemented this clinic back in 1990, you would see … five [to] seven … PMF cases” a year, says Ron Carson, who directs Stone Mountain’s black lung program. The clinics now see that many cases every two weeks, he says. Black Lung (or progressive massive fibrosis — PMF) is caused by inhalation of coal and silica dust at both underground and surface coal mines. Miners gradually lose the ability to breathe, as they wheeze and gasp for air. Lung transplants are the only cure, and they’re possible only when miners are healthy enough to qualify.
The epidemic, originally identify by an NPR investigation, “also found that the likely cause of the epidemic is longer work shifts for miners and the mining of thinner coal seams. Massive mining machines must cut rock with coal and the resulting dust contains silica, which is far more toxic than coal dust.” New coal dust regulations were fully implemented in 2016. The Trump administration recently announced a “retrospective study” of the new regulations, although in recent testimony, MSHA director David Zatezalo stated to roll back the standard.
February 16, 2018
Black Lung is Back: After almost being eradicated in the late 1990, black lung is back, with a vengeance. Epidemiologists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health say they’ve identified the largest cluster of advanced black lung disease ever reported, according to an NPR story. “When I first implemented this clinic back in 1990, you would see … five [to] seven … PMF cases” a year, says Ron Carson, who directs Stone Mountain’s black lung program. The clinics now see that many cases every two weeks, he says. Black Lung (or progressive massive fibrosis — PMF) is caused by inhalation of coal and silica dust at both underground and surface coal mines. Miners gradually lose the ability to breathe, as they wheeze and gasp for air. Lung transplants are the only cure, and they’re possible only when miners are healthy enough to qualify.
The epidemic, originally identify by an NPR investigation, “also found that the likely cause of the epidemic is longer work shifts for miners and the mining of thinner coal seams. Massive mining machines must cut rock with coal and the resulting dust contains silica, which is far more toxic than coal dust.” New coal dust regulations were fully implemented in 2016. The Trump administration recently announced a “retrospective study” of the new regulations, although in recent testimony, MSHA director David Zatezalo stated to roll back the standard.
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