Resurgence in Black Lung Cases

Carole Bass writes to tell us of an apparent resurgence in black lung disease among U.S. coal miners.  Though the cause is not certain, a couple of theories have been proposed.  One is that miners are working more hours than they did 20 years ago -- 12- and 16-hour shifts, and 60-hour weeks.  The second is that most of the coal that's left in Appalachia is in "thin seams" -- 28 inches or less -- and mining thin-seam coal requires taking up a lot of rock with the coal.  That rock contains silica, which can be worse for a miner's lungs than coal. 

For more, see Carole Bass, Why Is Black Lung Back?

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