They voted for Trump. Now they’re being crushed by him. They still believe he cares about them. Common story these days, it seems.
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..the national prevalence of black lung in miners who have worked 25 years or more now exceeds 10 percent. In central Appalachia, which includes Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, 20.6 percent of coal miners have evidence of the disease—the highest level recorded in 25 years.
American Industrial Hygiene Association
When coal miners came to Washington in April, they posed behind President Trump at the White House, wearing their hard hats and thanking him for trying to reinvigorate their struggling industry.
But on Tuesday dozens of miners and their families will be in a more unusual position: protesting the Trump administration outside the Labor Department building, arguing it has failed to protect them from black lung disease, an incurable illness caused by inhaling coal and silica dust.
They have been waiting months for the government to enforce federal limits on silica dust, a carcinogen that has led to a recent spike in the disease. But mining industry groups have sued to block the rule, and the Trump administration has paused enforcement while the lawsuit plays out.
Labor unions, Democrats and a growing number of miners accuse the Trump administration of ignoring workers while using hundreds of millions of dollars in federal subsidies to bolster the companies that operate coal plants and mining operations.
“The companies might be getting a handout, but the miners ain’t getting none,” said Gary Hairston, 71, a retired coal miner from West Virginia who is the president of the National Black Lung Association. Mr. Hairston has been living with black lung disease since he was in his 40s.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement that President Trump “cares deeply about unleashing America’s energy potential, as well as standing up for those who fuel our country” like coal miners.
“Blue collar Americans played a key role in sending President Trump back to the White House because they know he has their back,” she said, adding that “he is working tirelessly to deliver policies that improve the livelihoods of working families across the nation.”
Ms. Kelly did not say whether the administration plans to revise or repeal the silica dust regulation.
The federal government has recognized the health threats that coal dust poses since 1969, when Congress passed the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, which set health and safety standards for coal mining and required federal inspections and monitoring for black lung disease.
But now, after decades of improvements, the disease has made a disturbing resurgence, particularly among younger workers because of their exposure to a different material: silica dust. Experts said that is in part because of changing mining practices. Most of the thick coal seams in places like Appalachia have already been mined, and workers are increasingly cutting through more rock to reach coal, exposing them to silica dust.
Composed of tiny crystals that can lodge in lung tissue, silica dust can cause inflammation and scarring when inhaled. It is considered about 20 times more toxic to the lungs than coal dust and can also cause lung cancer and kidney disease.
The Biden administration set limits on miners’ exposure to the silica dust that mirrored federal regulations covering construction and other industries in which workers are exposed to the dust. It also required mine operators to take immediate corrective action if exposures exceeded the limit. The administration estimated the rule would prevent at least 1,067 deaths and 3,746 cases of black lung.
