Coal Mining Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Remembering Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster And Sarah Jarosz Has Our Song Of The Week, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, which caused the deaths of 29 miners, happened 14 years ago. Ashton Marra worked for WVPB at the time and covered the trial of Don Blankenship, CEO of the company that owned the mine. Briana Heaney sat down with Marra to talk about what it was like being a reporter covering the trial.

On this West Virginia Morning, the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, which caused the deaths of 29 miners, happened 14 years ago. Ashton Marra worked for WVPB at the time and covered the trial of Don Blankenship, CEO of the company that owned the mine. Briana Heaney sat down with Marra to talk about what it was like being a reporter covering the trial.

Also, in this show, our Mountain Stage Song of the Week comes to us from four-time GRAMMY winner Sarah Jarosz. We listen to her performance of “Good at What I Do,” which recently reached #1 on the Americana Radio charts.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Our Appalachia Health News project is made possible with support from Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

New Exhibit Brings W.Va. Coal Mining History To Nation’s Capital

From March 16 to July 6, the National Archives will display a new exhibit entitled “Power & Light: Russell Lee’s Coal Survey.” It features more than 200 photographs taken by documentary photographer Russell Lee.

Coal mining has long served a place of importance in Appalachian history. But a new exhibit in Washington, D.C. will help the region’s industrial past reach a wider audience later this week.

In 1946, Lee conducted a survey across 13 U.S. states, documenting the inner workings of the coal industry and its impact on miners and their families.

Alongside his wife Jean, Lee captioned the collection of works slated for display. His survey followed a series of strikes from coal miners that had originally been met with national skepticism, according to the National Archives website.

The exhibit spans 3,000 square feet of the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery. It also features a handwritten note from President Harry Truman on the strikes, and several other primary sources.

The exhibit is free and open to members of the public.

For more information visit the National Archives website at https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2024/nr24-13.

MSHA Proposes Lower Limit On Silica Dust Exposure For Coal Miners

The limit would be lowered to 50 micrograms per cubic meter per eight-hour shift, down from 100.

Federal mine safety regulators have announced a long-delayed rule that could help reduce cases of black lung disease.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration proposes a new limit on coal miners’ exposure to silica dust.

The limit would be lowered to 50 micrograms per cubic meter per eight-hour shift, down from 100. That matches what’s already required in other industries by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

“The purpose of this proposed rule is simple: prevent more miners from suffering from debilitating and deadly occupational illnesses by reducing their exposure to silica dust,” said Chris Williamson, assistant secretary for Mine Safety and Health at the U.S. Department of Labor. “Silica overexposures have a real-life impact on a miner’s health.”

Studies in recent years have found that silica dust exposure is driving an increase in cases of severe black lung disease in younger miners.

In a statement Friday, Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, said the change was long overdue.

“Workers in other industries have long been protected from excessive exposure to silica dust, but miners were not, even though they work in an environment where silica dust is encountered daily,” he said. “It was a travesty that the government had never taken steps to protect them. But now it finally has.”

The proposed rule also calls for exposure sampling and medical surveillance at no cost to miners.

The agency will take public comment on the proposed rule as well as hold hearings in Arlington, Virginia, and Denver on dates yet to be announced.

Black Lung Clinics Awarded More Than $2 Million

Black lung clinics across West Virginia will receive more than $2 million in federal funding.

More than $2 million in federal funding is supporting black lung clinics across the state.

The money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will go towards the state’s Black Lung and Coal Miner Clinics Program to provide financial help to the program’s health and treatment services.

Some of the services the program offers include lung function testing and rehabilitation, chest imaging, case management and benefits counseling.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is a ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies.

She said in a statement that miners are entitled to the medical care and treatment provided by the clinics and that they will continue to advocate for more accessible healthcare for coal miners in the Senate.

“West Virginia has a long tradition of generating America’s energy, and our coal miners are on the front lines every day to keep the lights on across our country,” Capito said. “I have been an advocate for coal miners for a long time and this funding from HHS will continue to help clinics deliver treatment to miners suffering from black lung. As the top Republican on the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, I will continue fighting for resources that provide assistance to brave West Virginia coal miners dealing with this disease.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Division of Coal Mine Workers’ Compensation, there were 28,628 total black lung beneficiaries nationwide in 2022.

West Virginia has more cases of black lung disease than any other state. And nearly one-quarter of the total number of cases reported, according to the Department of Labor.

More information about the West Virginia Black Lung Clinics Program, including services available by county, is available online.

Promoting W.Va. And Cleaning Up East Palestine This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, a group of state legislative and education leaders will soon embark on another national economic development tour. The program, called ChooseWV, tells West Virginia’s story directly to those who can make a major job and industry impact.

We hear an update on the East Palestine train derailment from The Allegheny Front. The creeks that run through the Ohio town are still contaminated with chemicals, and some residents and researchers are questioning the testing and cleanup of the waterways.

Also, West Virginia University President Gordon Gee outlined several challenges facing the university during his State of the University address Monday morning, renewables surpassed coal for generating electricity for the first time last year and a coal miner who died last week at Century Mining-Longview Mine in Barbour County was pinned beneath a mantrip, according to a preliminary report.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

CDC Purchases Pocahontas County Land For Mine Safety Research Facility

The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is building the Underground Mine Safety and Health Research Program facility to primarily research mine explosions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acquired land in Pocahontas County to construct a facility for mine safety research.

The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is building the Underground Mine Safety and Health Research Program facility to primarily research mine explosions, alongside work on mine seals, escape and rescue protocols, refuge alternatives and ventilation, among other projects like automation technology.

It will be built in Mace, replacing a similar facility in Lake Lynn, Pennsylvania, which opened in 1982 and closed in 2012. Negotiations between NIOSH and the previous property owner for the agency to purchase the land, as well as an environmental impact statement, began in 2018. The purchased property is 465 acres.

“The surface development is anticipated to take about 12 acres, so 453 acres will be left undisturbed, but it will contain some of our underground workings within a limestone bed,” NIOSH Deputy Associate Director for Mining George Luxbacher said.

Parts of the underground facility are designed to mimic the geometry of “room and pillar” and longwall coal mines, with the mine openings constructed in limestone. Other facilities that would emulate limestone mines and metal mines are also planned for construction.

“By constructing these mine openings in limestone, we don’t have to worry about the issues that we would have if we were to conduct these explosion testings in coal,” Luxbacher said.

Despite mine safety improvements brought on in part by the 2006 Sago, Alma and Darby mine disasters, Luxbacher says the industry still has issues that require research in unique facilities.

“This isn’t the kind of thing that you can do primarily in the laboratory, you have to be able to do it in a field environment that’s similar in conditions as to a working mine,” Luxbacher said.

The facility is expected to be completed within five years once construction begins. Design of the facility is expected to take around one year.