Sep 21 Energy & Environment Safer Direction? Top Mine Regulator Addresses Concerns About Dust And Deaths In Coal As President Trump attempts to revive the struggling coal industry, the administration’s top regulator for mine safety used a recent lecture at West Virginia University to lay out his priorities for the agency charged with keeping miners safe. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health David Zatezalo outlined the Trump administration’s priorities for […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 21 Energy & Environment Safer Direction? Top Mine Regulator Addresses Concerns About Dust And Deaths In Coal Brittany Patterson
Jul 11 Energy & Environment Federal Prosecutor Charges Coal Company With Faking Dust Samples Amid Black Lung Surge Western Kentucky District U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman didn’t hide his emotion when announcing federal charges against a coal company for faking coal dust samples. “This is one of those that just made me angry, it just made me angry to see the impact on these miners,” Coleman said. Coleman unsealed indictments Wednesday against eight employees […] By Jeff Young and Becca Schimmel Jul 11 Energy & Environment Federal Prosecutor Charges Coal Company With Faking Dust Samples Amid Black Lung Surge Jeff Young and Becca Schimmel
Jun 28 Energy & Environment National Academy Report Urges Stronger Coal Dust Monitoring Amid Black Lung Surge A new report from the National Academy of Sciences says the coal mining industry needs a “fundamental shift” in the way it controls exposure to coal and rock dust in order to prevent lung disease among miners. Despite improvements such as an Obama-era rule to strengthen monitoring and control of dust in mines, the experts […] By Jeff Young Jun 28 Energy & Environment National Academy Report Urges Stronger Coal Dust Monitoring Amid Black Lung Surge Jeff Young
Jun 4 Energy & Environment Black Lung Benefits Fund in Deepening Debt as Epidemic Surges A new study from the Government Accountability Office finds that the federal fund supporting coal miners with black lung disease could be in financial trouble without Congressional action. As NPR has reported, the GAO found that the fund’s debt could rise dramatically at the same time that black lung disease is surging. Most federal benefits […] By Benny Becker Jun 4 Energy & Environment Black Lung Benefits Fund in Deepening Debt as Epidemic Surges Benny Becker
May 16 Energy & Environment Lung Transplants Rise Amid Region’s Black Lung Epidemic The Appalachian coalfields are in the midst of an epidemic of severe black lung disease. The debilitating and even deadly disease has recently begun to affect miners as young as 30. Dust from coal mines has scarred these miners’ lungs, so little of the air they breathe gets absorbed. In central Appalachia, researchers say, one […] By Benny Becker May 16 Energy & Environment Lung Transplants Rise Amid Region’s Black Lung Epidemic Benny Becker
Feb 9 Energy & Environment Living With Black Lung: Coal Miners Caught In A Surging Epidemic The central Appalachian coalfields are in the middle of an unprecedented epidemic of severe black lung disease. In a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association federal researchers released the results of a study conducted at just three black lung clinics. The study confirmed 416 cases of the most severe form of […] By Benny Becker Feb 9 Energy & Environment Living With Black Lung: Coal Miners Caught In A Surging Epidemic Benny Becker
Jan 12 Economy Miner Change: Trump’s Big Talk On Coal Brings Small Change in First Year Donald Trump loves coal. He campaigned on a promise to put miners back to work and his first year in office included numerous Ohio Valley visits to highlight coal’s importance. “I love our coal miners and they’re coming back strong!” Trump said to a roaring crowd at an August rally in Huntington, West Virginia. At […] By Becca Schimmel Jan 12 Economy Miner Change: Trump’s Big Talk On Coal Brings Small Change in First Year Becca Schimmel
Dec 19 Energy & Environment Mine Health Expert Concerned About Review Of Coal Dust Rule The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget has announced a review of an Obama-era rule that protects coal miners from exposure to the dust that causes black lung disease. That has some health and safety advocates concerned. The review comes amid a tide of regulatory rollbacks by the Trump administration and at a time […] By Benny Becker Dec 19 Energy & Environment Mine Health Expert Concerned About Review Of Coal Dust Rule Benny Becker
Nov 14 Economy Controversial Mine Safety Nominee Faces Final Vote The U.S. Senate voted along party lines Wednesday, 52 to 46, to narrowly confirm President Trump’s nominee to lead the Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA. The country’s top mine safety position has been vacant since January as coal mining fatalities have risen to a two-year high. Trump’s choice to fill the post faced […] By Becca Schimmel Nov 14 Economy Controversial Mine Safety Nominee Faces Final Vote Becca Schimmel
Oct 6 Resource Shift “Matewan” Revisited: Film Unearthed Region’s Buried Labor History Thirty years ago the premiere of a small-budget, independent film had an out-sized effect on how many people in Appalachian coal country thought about their region and their past. “Matewan,” directed by John Sayles, depicted a bloody chapter in the fight to organize coal miners in the 1920s, exploring themes of class struggle and pacifism […] By Jeff Young Oct 6 Resource Shift “Matewan” Revisited: Film Unearthed Region’s Buried Labor History Jeff Young