New Cases of Black Lung Disease

On Friday NPR reported that black lung disease may be 10 times more prevalent than we recently thought. New cases have been popping up in Appalachia and it seems the disease is on the rise again.

The new data shows that more coal miners across Appalachia are suffering from the most serious form of black lung disease than federal regulators reported in recent years.

Officials at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health said that 60 miners (both former and current) from Pike, Floyd, Letcher and Knott counties in Kentucky has been diagnosed with massive fibrosis. This type of black lung disease is the most severe and those affected by it struggle to breathe.

The scariest part? These 60 miners have only been diagnosed since January 2015 which means within two years the diagnosis of massive fibrosis increase ten-fold.

“The current numbers are unprecedented by any historical standard,” Scott Laney, an NIOSH epidemiologist, stated. “We had not seen cases of this magnitude ever before in history in central Appalachia.”



What is Black Lung Disease?

According to the Associated Press, 644 cases of complicated black lung were diagnosed at Stone Mountain Health Services (six time the NIOSH count in nearly half the time). SMHS has clinic in three Virginia communities, where the mining profession is prominent.

Most simply put, black lung disease is pneumoconiosis caused by inhalation of coal dust. The disease has been considered an “occupational hazard” for miners for decades. However, to see it on the rise is a bit of a surprise.

Why are Black Lung Disease Cases on the Rise?

So, that leaves one question. Why are black lung disease cases on the rise?

NIOSH’s Scott Laney along with his colleagues believe thinner coal seams in Appalachia are probably to blame for the increased number of diagnosed black lung cases. Having thin seams means that the coal will produce mining dust with silica.

You may have seen the word “silica” on tiny, white packets in a box that has been packed up. They look like this:

How Big is the Spike in Black Lung Disease?

If you’ve ingested silica it is extremely toxic to the body. Breathing it in is toxic to the lung tissue.

Per usual, the findings have some stipulations. The latest NIOSH findings were all from one radiologist and only show a statistical spike from the 1990-1999 figures.

Laney and his colleagues realize that they have missed hundreds of black lung disease cases with their current monitoring process. Right now they can only examine working miners. Testing for the disease is voluntary and small amount of people are opting to be tested. Only 17 percent of miners in Kentucky were tested for black lung since 2011.

“I think the percentage of black lung that we’re seeing now here in central Appalachia is unprecedented in any recorded data that I can find anywhere,” said radiologist Brandon Crum. “In this clinic we’re roughly around 9 to 10 percent complicated rate, which is around three times higher than even the highest reported numbers.” Since he’s contacted NIOSH he has identified 10 more cases.

The most alarming finding, according to Crum, is that some of the affected miners were only in their 30s and 40s and worked as a miners less than 20 years. This means that black lung disease is taking less time to set in.

Black lung disease has caused about 78,000 deaths since 1968, according to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Congress identified black lung as an epidemic and passed a law to set limits to miners’ exposure to the breathable dust in the mines.

President-elect Trump has been pushing to put miners back to work. Whether lawmakers will try to shelter current miners from this “new” form of breathable dust has yet to be determined.

Photos: Janet Lindenmuth and Antonio Zugaldia