Black Lung Rates in KY, VA, WV Coal Miners Reach 50-Year High

Washington — Recent NIOSH research shows 32.5% of coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia with at least 25 years of experience have coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. The rate is the highest in nearly 50 years and 10 times higher than the rate for the rest of the country.

according to Safety+Health Magazine.

NIOSH Screening Data

Findings come from black lung screenings conducted under the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program in the past five years. In 2018 NIOSH reported that 20.6% of long-tenured miners in the same three states had black lung. The agency states the current data indicate the burden of disease is affecting younger miners and is not confined to the most experienced workers. Rates have also increased for all mining groups in central Appalachia with more than 10 years on the job.

Disease Cause and Silica Role

NIOSH states excessive inhalation of coal mine dust is the sole cause of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. The agency adds that exposure to the respirable crystalline silica component of coal mine dust plays an important role in contemporary disease patterns, particularly in central Appalachia.

MSHA Regulatory Actions

MSHA includes a revised proposed rule on miner exposure to respirable crystalline silica in the 2026 Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The new proposal covers changes to exposure monitoring, medical surveillance and respiratory protection. MSHA published a final rule in April 2024 that reduced the permissible exposure limit for respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an 8-hour time-weighted average. The rule also increases sampling and enforcement at metal and nonmetal mines and requires mine operators to provide periodic health exams at no cost to miners. Enforcement of the rule has been delayed because of a lawsuit in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

according to Safety+Health Magazine.