MSHA needs to act to enforce a silica standard to protect today's miners. "I testified before Congress in 2019 on this exact issue and nothing was done," Roberts says. Roberts tells NPR in a statement that the study "proves what we have already known, that silica is a leading cause behind the rise in cases of progressive massive fibrosis. United Mine Workers of America President Cecil E. As the mining machines operate, the quartz in the sandstone turns into sharp silica particles that are easily inhaled and can lodge in the lungs permanently.Ĭohen and others are calling for the federal government to toughen Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulations on silica dust in mines. Silica exposure comes from miners cutting into sandstone as they mine coal, which has become more common in recent decades as larger coal deposits were exhausted in Appalachia. Silica particles can get lodged in a miner's lungs permanently What's more, the investigation found, federal regulators knew about excessive and toxic mine dust exposures but didn't act - retaining an old regulatory standard for mining dust that doesn't directly address silica.
Among them were miners in their 30s who experienced a rapid progression to advanced lung disease.īy analyzing decades of federal regulatory data, NPR and Frontline found thousands of instances where miners were working amid dangerous levels of silica.
NPR and Frontline found thousands of recent cases of the severe disease, known as complicated black lung or progressive massive fibrosis, in just five Appalachian states. Investigations 'I Figured It Was Going To Be A Horrible Death, And It Probably Will Be' The pattern of pathology was very, very consistent with silica," Cohen says.Ĭohen's study specifically looked at contemporary miners with severe disease and what was lodged in their lungs, compared to older workers who also had severe lung disease. Cohen says that up to now there has been indirect evidence of the link, but his study went further - testing lung tissue samples for the concentration of silica particles. Robert Cohen of the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. "This is the smoking gun," said the study's lead author, Dr. The study, which examined the lungs of modern miners and compared them to miners who worked decades ago, provides the first evidence of its kind that silica dust is responsible for the rising tide of advanced disease, including among miners in Appalachia. Lawmakers have debated and failed to adequately regulate the dust for decades. A new study provides the first evidence of its kind that silica dust is responsible for the rising tide of severe black lung disease, including among coal miners in Appalachia.Įxposure to a toxic rock dust appears to be "the main driving force" behind a recent epidemic of severe black lung disease among coal miners, according to the findings of a new study.
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