The shortness of breath is obvious.
Whether walking up stairs or attempting to tend a small backyard garden, the wheezing and sometimes gasping for air is evident. The victim is a former coal miner. The problem: Black lung disease.
While most in the coalfields of the two Virginias know it as “black lung,” it’s also called silicosis or coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. Its cause is easy to pinpoint: The inhalation of coal dust.
Whatever the name, the outcome is the same. Black lung is a chronic health issue with debilitating symptoms.
Last week, a group of officials and medical experts announced a plan that may help curb the rising number of black lung cases.
“There is a collective agreement that we have to fix this problem,” said Joseph Main, director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, during a meeting in Beckley last week. Main was speaking to a packed room that included representatives from mining companies, the United Mine Workers of America and former miners suffering from black lung disease.
The plan unveiled last week emphasizes education in its objective of stamping out the disease. It hopes to target information gaps about the disease, according to Main.
“A week-long project called the Dust Sweep will be rolled out in mines across the country, making sure required dust control measures are in place and providing the latest information on black lung,” an Associated Press story reported.
Main said a second part of the plan targets enforcement of existing regulations, and will include mine inspectors looking for shortcomings in dust control.
The final part of the plan involves new federal regulation, but it has not been revealed in its entirety.
The AP reported the new edict “may involve technology that will help miners monitor the amount of dust they’re breathing in the mines.”
There is a chance miners in black lung “hot spots” such as ones noted in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky could be required to use the devices, according to David Young, president of the Bituminous Coal Operators’ Association.
The length of shifts in underground mines is another issue that could be addressed through regulations.
We are encouraged by the renewed emphasis on protecting our coal miners from black lung disease.
Men and women who work so hard each day to fuel our nation’s energy should not have to suffer the debilitating effects of this horrific illness.
We welcome this new emphasis on education, enforcement and other preventive measures to safeguard the health of our coal miners.
— Bluefield Daily Telegraph
This editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Times West Virginian editorial board.
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Health of coal miners must be a top priority
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