Black Lung

Still Kills

Photo Credit: Earl Dotter

Black lung disease continues to impact coal miners and their families across Appalachia, with rising diagnosis rates driven by prolonged exposure to coal and silica dust. This website provides essential information on the history of black lung and miner advocacy, diagnosis, and resources to support miners and communities affected by this preventable, but devastating, disease.

Black Lung by the Numbers

In Central Appalachia, nearly 1 in 3 working underground coal miners with at least 25 years underground has black lung disease - the highest rate recorded in nearly 50 years

Miners with as few as 15 years underground are experiencing black-lung rates not seen in nearly 40 years.

The most severe form of the disease - progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) - has surged to levels not seen since the 1970s, after being nearly eliminated just a few decades ago.

In some Appalachian communities, rates of severe black lung have increased by as much as 900% since the 1990s.

Black lung disease and deaths are concentrated in Appalachia, where counties can experience dramatically higher case and mortality rates than the national average.

News

Featured
Black lung benefits need to be increased
Black lung benefits need to be increased

Wherever you go in Letcher County, you don’t have to look very hard to see what black lung is doing here. Whether you’re at a church event, the grocery store, or a doctor’s appointment, you see people who are sick because of the deadly disease, and struggling to breathe.

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Black lung rates in Appalachia are high as the 1970s, with thousands of miners sick
Black lung rates in Appalachia are high as the 1970s, with thousands of miners sick

New NIOSH research shows black-lung rates among veteran underground miners in Central Appalachia have reached their highest level in nearly 50 years. Nearly one in three miners with at least 25 years underground in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia showed evidence of the disease.

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Federal Register: Black Lung Benefits Act Authorization of Self-Insurers
Federal Register: Black Lung Benefits Act Authorization of Self-Insurers

The Department of Labor has proposed replacing a rule that required self-insured coal companies to secure 100% of their projected black-lung liabilities. Under the proposed system, each company’s collateral would depend on a federal assessment of its financial strength and risk of default.

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Where is WV’s congressional delegation on black lung?
Where is WV’s congressional delegation on black lung?

Right now, too many miners are out of work, sick and stuck having to choose between paying their bills and paying for food or housing.

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Local leaders support boosting black lung benefits. That consensus hasn’t emerged in Congress.
Local leaders support boosting black lung benefits. That consensus hasn’t emerged in Congress.

Local officials in Eastern Kentucky and other Appalachian communities are urging Congress to increase black lung benefits, which have lost substantial value to inflation. The Support Our Miners Act has regional support but has not yet attracted a bipartisan congressional coalition.

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