×

Miners deserve better odds vs. black lung

Black lung, known in the scientific community as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, was back in the news recently.

A big law firm has been accused of intentionally withholding information that could have helped some miners collect black lung benefits.

Obviously, state and federal authorities should investigate.

If the claim is true, the law firm should be punished severely.

But even if the accusation is true, it affected only a comparative handful of miners.

Of much more concern should be the thousands who continue to contract black lung from working in coal mines.

For several years, it appeared that the federal mine requirements that were enacted nearly half a century ago were effective in protecting most miners.

But new studies by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health indicate black lung is making a comeback.

As many as one-tenth of miners with careers of 25 years or more test positive for black lung, NIOSH found.

Even those miners with fewer years in the mines are at more risk than had been thought previously.

The government and the industry scientists need to find out why protective measures do not seem to have worked as well as they seemed to initially.

America’s miners deserve better odds against black lung.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today