The Courier-Journal

People in Appalachian Kentucky are dying at rates significantly higher than national averages.

We need to better understand why, through scientific research, to begin curing the health crises in the region.

One federally funded study was working on that until the Trump administration’s Interior Department turned its back on the region about a week ago when it put the brakes on a $1 million study. Officials say it was part of a budgetary review.

We’re skeptical. Scientific research is under siege in this administration, especially when it calls for restrictions that cut into corporate profits.

More:Eastern Kentucky is the hub of sickness and death - and it's getting worse | Ben Chandler

That National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine study was looking at the potential health risks of people living near mountain strip mining sites in the coal region.

We agree with U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, who said budget priorities are out of whack and putting lives at risk.

More:Trump administration halts strip-mining health study across Central Appalachia

Kentucky’s other congressional leaders must push back against the president and get this study back on track. It is morally reprehensible to claim to support bringing back coal jobs while people in those mining communities are dying at alarming rates and it’s unknown whether mining is contributing to the region's health crisis.

This is a deadly smack in the face for the region that overwhelmingly voted for Trump, and it doesn’t make sense.

We need to know if the dust from blasting away the mountain tops is exposing nearby residents to cancer-causing arsenic, cadmium and other dangerous elements. We need to know if the mining is contributing to lung disease, birth defects and cardiovasular disease. We need to know if polluted streams and water supplies are a factor.

More:Intimidation or accountability? A mining company goes after Kentucky regulators' own money

What we do know is that the cancer mortality rate in Appalachian Kentucky is 35 percent higher than the national rate. And we know that the region’s mortality rate from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is 88 percent higher than the national rate.

And while smoking rates are higher in the region, one peer-reviewed study showed that does not account for increases in cancer and other health issues in mining areas.

More:Coal's political power dimming among voters

Until we know what other factors could be contributing to the region's health problems, nothing can be off the table, including research into the effects of mountaintop strip mining.

We can’t ignore earlier studies that have shown higher numbers of birth defects in communities near mountain strip mining and higher rates of kidney disease and lung cancer.

There must be wide scientific research to begin diagnosing what’s killing so many in Eastern Kentucky. Anything less is malpractice.