Tag: Black Lung

New Rule to Help Black Lung Disease

The Obama administration is cutting the amount of coal dust allowed in coal mines in an effort to help reduce black lung disease.Black lung is an…

The Obama administration is cutting the amount of coal dust allowed in coal mines in an effort to help reduce black lung disease.
Black lung is an irreversible and potentially deadly disease caused by exposure to coal dust. The government estimates that the disease has killed more than 76,000 miners since 1968.

 
The rule lowers the maximum levels of coal dust in mines. It also increases dust sampling in the mines, and requires coal operators to take immediate action when dust levels are high. The requirements will be phased in over two years.
 
The administration first proposed the rule back in 2010.
 
Top Labor Department officials are unveiling the long-awaited rule Wednesday at an event in Morgantown, W.Va.

Long-Awaited U.S. Rule on Coal Dust to be Announced

  Top federal labor and mine safety officials are heading to West Virginia to release a long-awaited final rule on coal dust.

The announcement will be made Wednesday in Morgantown. Among those attending will be U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez and Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. The director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, John Howard, will also discuss the new rule.

For 3½ years, the Obama administration has been working on the rule to reduce miners’ exposure to dust that causes black lung.

Black lung, or coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, is an irreversible and potentially deadly disease caused by exposure to coal dust.

 

Black Lung Clincs Brace for Federal Cuts & The Award-Winning 'West Virginia at 150'

A McDowell County clinic is worried that federal cuts could compromise care for coal miners with Black Lung Disease. Also, a segment from West Virginia at 150, which won the Best Documentary Award at the Associated Press Broadcasters Association of The Virginias.

Tomblin Hopes Feds Reconsider Black Lung Benefits Funding Cuts

 
Federal funds for black lung benefits in West Virginia were cut about 44 percent. The United States 
Department of Health and Human Services Black Lung Clinic program now limits awards to $900,000 per grantee.  

Last year the funds helped nearly 8,500 West Virginians suffering from Black Lung disease find critical services at eight clinics across the state, totaling more than 52,000 documented visits.
 
 
 
The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health has been a recipient of the Black Lung Clinic Grant program since 1979 and has provided oversight and technical assistance for Black Lung clinics statewide.
 
 

Last year, 14 states received funding.  Thirteen states received less than $900,000 and West Virginia was awarded $1.4 million.  
 
 
 
According to a release, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin sent a letter to U.S. DHHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding this change.  In the letter, Tomblin asks the Secretary  reconsider or “allow for supplemental request to maintain the standards of care and service” in the state’s black lung clinics.  
 
 
 
Congressman Nick Rahall also responded to the announcement. In a statement Rahall says he’s working with Rockefeller and Manchin to address the problem. 
 

PROs help keep schools safe, more on the recent Center for Public Integrity black lung investigation

  Two stories that examine the critical role of Prevention Resource Officers in schools and what they do to keep students safe and a conversation with The Center for Public Integrity’s Chris Hamby, who investigated the handling of cases involving black lung disease.

Congressmen want W.Va. law firm investigated

Two congressional Democrats want the U.S. Labor Department to investigate how West Virginia law firm Jackson Kelly has handled black lung benefits cases for its coal industry clients.
 
     Reps. George Miller of California and Joe Courtney of Connecticut cite an investigation of the federal program by the Center for Public Integrity and ABC.
 
     Miller is ranking Democrat on the House committee that oversees the program.
 
     The reports say Jackson Kelly withheld medical records that could have helped miners prove they have the disease.
 
     Jackson Kelly has represented coal companies since the mid-1800s.
 
     The company declined comment to the Charleston Daily Mail but says in court documents it has no duty to turn over certain information.
 
     Jackson Kelly says its obligation is to prepare the best case for its clients.

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