The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said weeks ago that they were too busy to address new concerns regarding coal dust inhalation; the following week, they proposed new regulations to begin random drug testing of American miners.

Hundreds of retired miners die every year from black lung, a disease which has haunted coal workers since the early days of the profession. Miners are outraged that the government entity which is supposed to protect their safety seemingly holds little concern for the impact that the job has on their health, yet has decided to make their marijuana habits an issue worth tackling.

Congress passed a law in 1969 which was intended to lower the levels of coal dust inside mines, but 40 years later, there’s been little improvement. In 2007, researchers with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that black lung cases among American miners had doubled over the past ten years.[social_buttons]

“It’s frustrating that MSHA had time to draft a regulation for drug testing when there are much bigger health and safety problems facing the nation’s miners,” said Nathan Fetty, a lawyer who represents coal miners. “For example, MSHA could have spent its time writing regulations to control respirable dust and finally eliminate black lung disease.”

Richard Stickler, the MSHA’s safety chief, said that while he agrees that coal dust inhalation is of primary concern, the organization has been too busy applying new regulations following the many 2006 mine accidents to take on new initiatives. “I’ve got the MINER Act to implement, and can’t put more items on that regulatory agenda,” said Stickler, a week before proposing the drug tests. “So there’s no way I’m going to tackle respirable dust.”

Photo Credit: NIOSH on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

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