We know how to prevent black lung, so why are workers still dying?
Sufferers of black lung and silicosis are getting younger as Trump and the coal mining industry push back on protections Silicosis is one of the oldest workplace hazards and public health experts have known for decades how to prevent it. Yet a new wave of workers, from Appalachian coalminers to Latino countertop fabrication workers, are developing and dying from the disease as industry fights new…
Black lung and silicosis are diseases that have plagued workers for decades, with public health experts knowing for a long time how to prevent them. However, a new wave of workers, including Appalachian coalminers and Latino countertop fabrication workers, are developing and dying from these diseases as the coal mining industry fights against new protections and regulators fail to enforce the rules that could save their lives.
John Robinson, a former coal miner in southwest Virginia, is part of this growing trend. His grandfather suffered from black lung when coal miners could work in the mines for decades before being diagnosed, often dying in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. But Robinson, who worked in the mines until he was 47, was diagnosed with the disease. This trend has been on the rise over the past two decades in central Appalachia, where more coal miners are developing black lung at younger ages.
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