Black Lung

When asked to think of coal mining, what comes to mind? A mountain with a hole cut into the side of it with a set of railroad tracks disappearing into it? Maybe an old mine car or two full of some rocks or coal, with a pickaxe and shovel leaning against it. A few guys with hard hats covered in a black powder coming walking out of the mine pushing a car or two full of coal. The technology has advanced but the process is basically still the same as well as the outcome. Coal is retrieved from underground and taken to factories to be burnt to create electricity or to fuel the steel mills.

Bronchitis is the inflammation of the mucous membranes of the bronchi, the airways that carry airflow from the trachea into the lungs. The thin mucus lining of these airways can become irritated and swollen; the cells that make up the lining may leak fluids in response to the inflammation. Bronchitis most often occurs during the cold and flu season usually coupled with an upper respiratory infection. Bronchitis can be divided into two categories: acute or chronic each of which has distinct etiologies, pathologies, and therapies. I chose this condition because it seemed like an interesting topic to research on, and I am also interested in learning more

On December 3, 2014, I conducted a Health and Safety Inspection (EO1) at Warrior Coal LLC, Cardinal underground mine. I went to the mine to monitor the operators dust sampling; however, they were not sampling. Due to the operator not sampling I decided to travel to the # 2 Unit 002-0 and 004-0 Mechanized Mining Unit (MMU) to check the dust Parameters.

Anthracite coal mining consisted of differing levels of skill and precision that could be lucrative depending upon the miner’s luck. A coal miner would be lucky to find steady employment, or to even survive to the day’s end. The procedures involved in preparing the coal from the mines to the shipping was filled with dangers that led the “industry” as “one of the world’s most hazardous.” Mine owners to maintain “overhead costs” and keep mine workers in the industry, would tactfully engage in underemployment. This left workers in state of constant need for more work, or higher wages to offset working part-time. These Anthracite miners were largely paid more than the average miner, but

Could you imagine living life trying to be successful and making a living to make sure you have food on the table? Now can you also imagine having that same occupation be the same thing that is danger to yourself and the life that you’ve built? Black Lung Disease. A disease that has pledged many working families around the world. Most commonly known as “Lung Disease “or Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, black lung disease was first discovered long ago but not much was known about the disease until the 1950s. This disease is caused by the inhalation of coal dust and usually results in the lungs turning black instead of being its normal pink. The disease is most commonly found among miners of hard coal, but it also occurs in soft-coal miners and graphite workers. The beginning of the disease is gradual; the symptoms usually appear only after 10–20 years of exposure to coal dust, and the extent of disease is clearly related to the total dust exposure. It is not clear whether coal itself is solely responsible for the disease, as coal dust often is contaminated with silica, which causes similar symptoms. There is strong evidence that tobacco smoking aggravates the condition. The early stages of the disease (when it is called anthracnosis) usually have no symptoms, but in its more advanced form it frequently is associated with pulmonary emphysema or chronic bronchitis and can be disabling; tuberculosis is also more common in victims of black lung. In 2013 CWP resulted in 25,000 deaths down from 29,000 deaths in 1990. The inhalation and accumulation of coal dust into the lungs increases the risk of developing chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The disease gets its name from a distinctive blue-black marbling of the lung caused by accumulation of the dust. Georgius Agricola, a German mineralogist, first described lung disease in coal miners in the 16th century, and it is now widely recognized. It may be the best known occupational illness in the United States.

Zamosky, L. (2011, September 05). A legacy of illnesses from 9/11. Retrieved June 10, 2016,

The dusty conditions of the mine and blasting procedures were contrary to the State mining law and to the Federal Mine Safety Code under which the mine was being operated by the Coal Mines Administration (Ankeny, Gallagher, Malesky, Perez, & Smith, 2012).

It’s a U.S. law which provides monthly payments and medical benefits to coal miners disabled from pneumoconiosis (black lung disease) rising from employment in or around the nation's coal mines. The law also provides monthly benefits to a miner's dependent survivors if pneumoconiosis caused or hastened the miner's death.

In the “NAACP Press Release” on November 16, 2012, members of the NAACP and its supporters express the eminent danger facing families surround coal-fired power plants. Many health issues have arisen in these areas such as asthma, bronchitis, heart conditions and birth defects according to the NAACP. NAACP President and CEO stated that “children are getting sick, grandparents are dying early, and mothers and fathers are missing work.”

In the book, 33 Men by Jonathan Franklin shows the experiences of 33 miners going to a tragedy with their lives on the line. Throughout many decades in the place of Northern chile, a city in Copiapo in the Atacama region, lies an underground tunnel in the hill. The San Jose mine, which proved to be one of the most dangerous mine in the country. There had been many accidents inside the mine because of sharp and collapsing rocks, and the dangerous explosions of dynamites. The miners would often inhale unhealthy components from the exhaust of the machine. When they exploded the dynamite, the debris of the rocks would fall off, which would spread all over the place covering the miners with dust. They would often go to the refuge to fill up oxygen

These deaths and injuries called for better safety for all working and many well-organized methods of getting rid of the gasses with flames and creating paths for water to leave the mines were thought up for more efficient coal mining. Inventions such as giant vacuums were used to rid of flooding water and one-man tunnels used for both mining and creating paths for water to go into a nearby river. Without a doubt coal mining was the most dangerous job in the early part of its life, killing around 1/3 of workers and causing permanent damage to bones and brains to around 60% of actual miners.

The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 provided compensation for miners who were permanently disabled by pneumoconiosis. Pneumoconiosis is a occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of dust. In Sago, West Virginia on January 2nd of 2006 there was a coal mine explosion that would trap thirteen miners for barely two days. Of the thirteen miners, only one survived. The only survivor, Randal McCloy, was in critical condition with a collapsed lung and dehydration. Miraculously, he had no sign of brain damage or carbon monoxide poisoning after being trapped for more than 42 hours. Luckily, miners have health care for life because of their hazardous jobs. Unlike the coal miners, there are many people in the country who don’t get the security of health care for life. I have a dream that everyone in the world can receive the medical attention they need regardless of their economic status.

The growing demand for consumer goods, such as electricity, fuel for vehicles, plastics and petrochemical products, etc., threatens the biodiversity. It also threatens the ecosystems and effects the environmental health. Many Navajo people traveled to mines off the reservation seeking work and would often move their families with them in mine camps. The mineworkers, the only job that was available, were paid at an hourly wage was less than a dollar. The jobs included blasters, timber men, muckers, transporters, and millers. Other health hazards have emerged, in particular uranium mining. The hazards of uranium mining have caused serious respiratory disease and that other respiratory illnesses, including silicosis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and emphysema, were causing deaths in uranium mineworkers at rates approaching those from lung cancer.

The Mines and Quarries Act of 1954 was aimed at creating safer working conditions for those who worked in the mines. The Cambrian Combine Strike was over low wages and the terrible working conditions in coal pits. 800 men were locked out and almost by the end of the year there were about 12,000 men who were on strike (www.llgc.org). In May of 1910, there was an explosion and fire at the Wellington Pit mine in Whitehaven, England. One hundred and thirty-sex men and boys lost their lives that day and reports showed that many of them had survived the initial explosion but ending up dying due to the fire and the rescuers being unable to save them (Elsewhere on the web in Cumbria). This was one of the biggest coal mine disasters and conditions never

Perret, J. L., Plush, B., Lachapelle, P., Hinks, T.S.C., Walter, C., Clarke, P., . . . Stewart, A. (2017). Coal mine dust lung disease in the modern era. Respirology, 22(4), 662-670. Doi:1111/ resp.13034