Black Lung

The Nation’s Coal Miners Get A Rare Piece Of Good News

April 20, 2024 Kim Kelly, In These Times. Educate! Black Lung, Coal Miners, Regulation, Worker Rights and Jobs

Today, the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) officially published a new federal safety rule aimed at reducing the amount of silica dust that coal miners breathe during their long shifts underground. As In These Times reported in a 2023 investigation, the prior standard allowed miners to be exposed to as much as 100 micrograms of silica dust per cubic meter, which was twice as high as the silica limit for workers in all other industries. The new rule slashes the limit to 50 micrograms — a level first recommended in 1974.

West Virginia Hearing: Don’t Cut Corners With Miners’ Safety

August 22, 2023 Kim Kelly, In These Times. Create! Black Lung, Health Care, Miners, Mining, West Virginia, Workplace Safety

West Virginia - At 9:00 A.M. sharp on August 10, a small phalanx of smiling, well-coiffed elderly women began herding a crowd of several dozen people into the auditorium of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beckley, West Virginia. Among the crowd were former coal miners and their spouses, lawyers, pulmonologists, black lung clinic staff, environmental activists, local media, union representatives, and concerned citizens — all there to attend a public hearing for a new proposed rule from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) that seeks to limit silica exposure in the nation’s coal mines to 50 micrograms per cubic meter, down from 100.

The Young Miners Dying Of ‘An Old Man’s Disease’

May 30, 2023 Kim Kelly, In These Times. Educate! Black Lung, Health Care, Miners, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs, Workplace Safety

Adaptation is a way of life for John Moore. He’s worked construction, run a wig shop and now promotes concerts. The wig shop idea came to him because his middle daughter was having trouble styling her thick, curly hair. He didn’t know much about wigs, or hair in general, so he learned and started turning a profit soon after the grand opening. That’s the kind of man he is — someone who’s always looking out for the next opportunity, the next chance to make it. When we meet, Moore is wearing a black puffer jacket, a black durag, work boots and a cautious smile. He’s soft-spoken but firm, and he lights up when he talks about his wife and three kids.

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