Oct 16 Health Federal Agency to Hear Comment on Silica Dust as Black Lung Epidemic Rages The Mine Safety and Health Administration will host a public meeting Thursday as it considers action on regulating respirable silica, one of the major contributors to Appalachia’s skyrocketing rates of black lung disease. MSHA issued a request for information in response to calls for increased regulation after a 2018 investigation from NPR and PBS Frontline. […] By Sydney Boles Oct 16 Health Federal Agency to Hear Comment on Silica Dust as Black Lung Epidemic Rages Sydney Boles
Oct 13 Health New Kentucky Memorial Honors Miners Who Died Of Black Lung Coal miners and family members of miners who have died from black lung disease gathered Sunday in Whitesburg, Kentucky, to dedicate a new memorial to miners who perished from the workplace disease. While Appalachian coal country has several memorials to mining disasters, this is believed to be the first memorial to remember the thousands of […] By Sydney Boles Oct 13 Health New Kentucky Memorial Honors Miners Who Died Of Black Lung Sydney Boles
Oct 10 Health Report Ranks Ohio Valley High In Childhood Obesity Amid Cuts In SNAP Benefits A report released Thursday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds nearly 323,000 children are obese in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio. Obesity rates among the region’s children remain some of the highest in the nation. West Virginia has the nation’s second-highest rate of obese children, Kentucky third, and Ohio tenth. Mississippi has the highest […] By Mary Meehan Oct 10 Health Report Ranks Ohio Valley High In Childhood Obesity Amid Cuts In SNAP Benefits Mary Meehan
Sep 30 Health Water is Unaffordable for Nearly Half of Martin Countians, Report Finds A new report finds nearly half the residents of Martin County, Kentucky, cannot afford water service. Local activists with the Martin County Concerned Citizens are ringing alarm bells about water affordability as the beleaguered county faces another likely water rate increase in the coming months. Since the ReSource first reported on its water crisis two […] By Sydney Boles Sep 30 Health Water is Unaffordable for Nearly Half of Martin Countians, Report Finds Sydney Boles
Sep 27 Health Ohio To Test For Toxic PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water Ohio will begin testing some public and private water systems for the presence of toxic nonstick, fluorinated chemicals, broadly called PFAS. In a press release issued Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the state’s environmental and public health agencies will analyze drinking water systems located near places with known contamination. That includes near firefighting training […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 27 Health Ohio To Test For Toxic PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water Brittany Patterson
Sep 24 Health The VA Fired A Doctor For “Egregious” Misconduct. The Bevin Administration Hired Him. Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration hired a physician to lead the state’s infectious disease office just months after the Department of Veterans Affairs dismissed that doctor for “egregious” medical misconduct. Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services hired Dr. John “Mel” Bennett in the same month that the VA’s Inspector General published a report highly critical […] By Mary Meehan Sep 24 Health The VA Fired A Doctor For “Egregious” Misconduct. The Bevin Administration Hired Him. Mary Meehan
Sep 20 Health Born Exposed: Schools Seek Ways To Help Children Exposed To Drugs In The Womb Students line up single file behind teachers at West Elementary in Athens, Ohio, for. the walk downhill from the brick building to board buses or meet up with the person taking them home. Some talk about their day, others run off to the playground and some discuss the latest Pokémon movie. A chant for the […] By Aaron Payne Sep 20 Health Born Exposed: Schools Seek Ways To Help Children Exposed To Drugs In The Womb Aaron Payne
Aug 28 Health Mining Regulators Seek Information On Silica Dust Exposure The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday it will collect information on how dust from silica, or quartz, has contributed to Appalachia’s worsening epidemic of black lung disease, and ways that mining operations might prevent exposure. The announcement comes after an NPR investigation last year found that MSHA had failed to sufficiently regulate […] By Sydney Boles Aug 28 Health Mining Regulators Seek Information On Silica Dust Exposure Sydney Boles
Aug 16 Health HIV Infection “Clusters” Put Focus On Harm Reduction Programs Health officials in Huntington, West Virginia, say a cluster of HIV infections has grown to 71 confirmed cases. That’s in a city that usually sees about eight HIV infections in a year. As with an earlier such cluster in northern Kentucky, officials say the primary cause of infection is needle drug use. Health officials say […] By Mary Meehan Aug 16 Health HIV Infection “Clusters” Put Focus On Harm Reduction Programs Mary Meehan