Advanced Search Close Search
Virginia

Black lung cases surging again in Southwest Va., Appalachia; miners blame blocked regulations

  • Charlotte Rene Woods

With new research showing that black lung disease among Appalachian coal miners has reached an almost 50-year high, advocates are demanding federal regulations be enforced. The data published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine is also part of a peer-reviewed research letter from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health […]

States Newsroom

UMWA calls for ‘immediate’ enforcement of silica rule as black lung hits new high in WV, Appalachia

  • Caity Coyne

The United Mine Workers of America made an “urgent demand” of the federal government on Thursday for the “immediate, uncompromised” enforcement of previously approved policies and rules that would protect coal miners from incurable black lung disease. The call from the UMWA comes after new research this month shows that black lung rates have increased […]

States Newsroom

Appalachia’s black lung rates highest in nearly 50 years as miners’ protections stall

  • Justin Hicks, Howard Berkes

This story was published through the Appalachian News Exchange, a regional media collaboration.  Respiratory therapist Marcy Freeman doesn’t need a research study to confirm for her a return to the dark days of coal mining. She finds evidence in a stack of more than 150 funeral programs, all for former patients at her pulmonary rehabilitation […]