Appalacia: Black Lung Study Finds Biggest Cluster Ever Of Fatal Coal Miners' Disease, WV, VA, KY, especially. Updated on Feb. 6 at 3:49 p.m. ET
Epidemiologists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health say they've identified the largest cluster of advanced black lung disease ever reported, a cluster that was first uncovered by NPR 14 months ago.
In a research letter published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, NIOSH confirms 416 cases of progressive massive fibrosis or complicated black lung in three clinics in central Appalachia from 2013 to 2017.
"This is the largest cluster of progressive massive fibrosis ever reported in the scientific literature," says Scott Laney, a NIOSH epidemiologist involved in the study.
"We've gone from having nearly eradicated PMF in the mid-1990s to the highest concentration of cases that anyone has ever seen," he said.
The clinics are operated by Stone Mountain Health Services and assess and treat coal miners mostly from Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia, a region that includes what have historically been some of the most productive coalfields in the country.
"When I first implemented this clinic back in 1990, you would see ... five [to] seven ... PMF cases" a year, says Ron Carson, who directs Stone Mountain's black lung program.
The clinics now see that many cases every two weeks, he says, and have had 154 new diagnoses of PMF since the fieldwork for the NIOSH study concluded a year ago.
"That's an indication that it's not slowing down," Carson says. "We are seeing something that we haven't seen before."
3
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
8 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.And why do the miners lament the downsizing of coal mining. I have heard there are retraining programs but they don't want this. Maybe the disease affects the brain as well as the body.
JackPedigo
Level 9
Feb 13, 2018
2
Coal does contain trace heavy metals that effect IQ . Oxygen deprivation is another factor . They should have left it alone 
In spite of what the idioty Trump says, it is time for us to get rid of coal-mining in this country. Coal mining destroys people, and the ecosystem in mining and consumption. Only a fool or a greedy self-absorbed moral idiot would back continued coal mining.
wordywalt
Level 9
Feb 13, 2018
2
Our leader says it's clean beautiful coal. Propping up the clean beautiful coal industry, and sabotaging solar, is the path to making America great, again.
david75090
Level 7
Feb 13, 2018
2
Yeah, I just watched a great Documentary about this last night. It's called From the Ashes, it was on HULU. It's amazing that our country was so stupid to throw away our chance to be the world leader in clean energy almost 40 years ago. ThanksRonald Reagan for that too, you greedy bas***d.
Side note: Google the story about the solar panels that were on the White House during the Carters administration, interesting where they went and how long they lasted!
Ktcyan
Level 7
Feb 13, 2018
3
dc65:
solar panels require a lot of maintenance to keep them working efficiently also they do not last as long as they claim. The good thing is the cost is coming down Continuously which makes it easier and cheaper to replace them when their efficiency gets too low. you're probably better off with windmills.
Exactly WHY would we want to bring coal 'back'?
SMFH
KKGator
Level 9
Feb 13, 2018
4
@VirginCotton My guess is oil is bigger money
@VirginCotton I can appreciate what you're saying. I think it's appalling how those in 'coal country' have been thrown under the bus by the coal companies, and government from the local level on up. I'm also appalled that they believe the bs they're being sold to the point that they've been voting against their own best interests. There's very little that's positive anywhere in that situation. The worst part is that the coal industry is never coming back, and they're going to lose any of the support they still have. It is just so wrong on so many levels.
@VirginCotton You lost me when you called climate change a "hoax". As far as coal being their "way of life", sometimes people need to learn a new way of life. While I have sympathy for their plight, they have had the opportunity to change their circumstances. Whether anyone chooses to avail themselves of opportunities is up to them. My sympathy for them is real, but it only goes so far.
@VirginCotton You have demonstrated that you can't tolerate anyone else's opinions if they differ from yours. If it weren't for "do-gooders", a lot more of those people you seem to champion would be dead. Don't come at me with your bs. Don't assume you actually know anything about me. You do not.
@VirginCotton You have misquoted me. I never said anything about not caring about the people there. Nor did I say "coal will never return". I asked WHY would we even want to have coal back? If you're going to react to my comments, I suggest you get them right in the first fucking place. You jumped to a lot of false conclusions based on NOTHING but your own misinterpretation of what you think you read. I stand by everything I said.
@VirginCotton First off, I am not a liberal. This hasn't been any kind of political discussion. You need to go back to the beginning of this thread and actually read it. I haven't demanded that you agree with me on anything. You've done nothing but misquote me, and extrapolate things I didn't even say to their most ridiculous conclusions. It is not possible to have a rational conversation with you. We are done here.
Pneumonoultramicroscopic-silicovolcanoconiosis. (Hyphenated because it's so long) Interesting read on the subject, I didn't know people were still studying this.
jayneonacobb
Level 7
Feb 13, 2018
1
Well like they said in the article , it was all but eradicated in the 90's , but now is coming back like never seen before . Fossil fuels have got to go !
@Douglas I used to work in the medical field so this stuff is interesting to me from that perspective. I had no idea that it came back until I read the article.
I understand both sides of the argument. Given the data I side with the environment and people's health. I also know that these kinds of jobs can't just be cut tomorrow without generating a serious financial problem for miners and the economy overall. Don't get me wrong, I'm as green as I can afford to be, but it is very expensive. For the whole country to go green it will take a long time to fully impliment such a broad policy. We do need to keep pushing forward though.
@jayneonacobb They've seen this coming since the 70's , if not the 60's . They just kept turning a blind eye on it , & now it's biting them . I don't like seeing people suffer either , but when you don't learn things the easy way , life socks it to you the hard way . They are learning a terrible lesson , & it pains me to watch , know there is scant little to do , except to say , you were told so , & you didn't listen . Minors are minors . There are other things to mine in the US . If that's what they insist on doing , then they need to move . If they don't want to move , then they need to do something else for a living . I know , easier said than done . . .