Black Lung: It's Back
Reason for Increase Of Medical Condition DebatedBy GABE WELLS Staff Writer With AP Dispatches
Article Photos
WHEELING - Dr. Donald Rasmussen has spent his medical career campaigning on behalf of victims of black lung. And now he sees the disease that afflicts nearly all coal miners making a comeback.
Rasmussen, of Beckley, is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on black lung. While coal mines have done much over the past 40 years to help alleviate some of the issues that lead to black lung, such as coal dust, Rasmussen believes that new, more powerful and efficient mining equipment is leading to the disease's resurgence.
"The current mining machines are so much more powerful than the old ones," Rasmussen said. "They can mine coal with a lot of layers of rock. The power releases a lot of coal dust and silica, too. The more silica in the dust, the more toxic it is.
"I don't have proof of that, but that's a theory I think needs to be looked at. There's going to have to be a better means of reducing the silica."
Rasmussen believes Northern Panhandle miners are less prone to the affliction because the coal in the Pittsburgh No. 8 seam is less toxic to the lungs than what is mined in southern West Virginia.
Black lung is known officially in medical circles as pneumoconiosis, but it's also been called miner's asthma and miner's cough. Regardless of the name, more and more cases of black lung disease are being reported - particularly in southern West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky, research indicates.
Built on 2003 research, a recently published report in the Center for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showed pockets where black lung disease has been progressing rapidly.
Researchers suggested several possible reasons for the increase and severity of the black lung cases: that the allowable dust limit may be too high; that the levels of coal dust reported may be underestimated; and that the toxicity of the coal being mined may be higher.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigators have suggested that they are seeing more cases of miners with black lung disease in small, nonunion mines. Genetics also plays a role in who develops black lung disease.
Rasmussen is a specialist in occupational pulmonary medicine at the Rheumatology and Pulmonary Clinic in Beckley.
Rasmussen said he has his own theories regarding the increase in black lung. He said current mining equipment causes more dust and also allows miners to reach coal not accessible in years past. The coal that once could not be reached is more toxic and contributes to the increase in black lung cases, he believes.
He said the equipment now used also is capable of mining through rock. That process releases the substance silica dust, which is dangerous to miners. The dust also is contributing to black lung cases, Rasmussen said.
J. Davitt McAteer, former head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and current vice president for sponsored programs at Wheeling Jesuit University, agrees with Rasmussen's theory regarding coal technology's impact on the increasing number of black lung patients. But he is not yet ready to support another of Rasmussen's theories.
Rasmussen believes the coal in the northern portions of West Virginia is less toxic than that in the southern areas of the Mountain State. He also believes coal in the United States decreases in toxicity to the west. McAteer noted that theory needs to be researched.
"There has been research done, but I think it needs further explored," McAteer said. "There's a hypothesis, but we can't say for certain that it's correct. It's a legitimate inquiry. We need to get to the bottom of this."
McAteer again suggested the evolution of mining equipment has been both a blessing and a curse.
"It's a step forward in the production aspect, but it's a step back in terms of the dust produced," McAteer said. "Over the past 25 years there has been an increase in speed, efficiency and energy. They are mining coal at a faster rate and increasing the amount dust."
NIOSH's study looked at two West Virginia counties in particular. A survey of 109 miners in Raleigh County found 23 miners had some signs of the disease, with five having advanced cases.
Another survey of 54 miners in Upshur County, located in central West Virginia, found five miners with some signs of the disease, including three with advanced cases. Numbers of black lung cases in Northern Panhandle miners were not included in the survey. Rasmussen said he can think of only one or two Northern Panhandle miners treated at his facility.
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EllisWyatt
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11-18-08 8:35 PM
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The companies don't care if you get sick after 30 years of work. By that time, you'll be dead or retired and they will have some other poor sap to mine their coal. Actually, that is not true. Soon, an operator with a computer screen and a robotic mining machine will be digging the coal. So, Black Lung cases SHOULD drop, along with employment. OR Barack Hussein Osama's policies will put miners out of work before they can get Black Lung.
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Blackrock
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11-17-08 6:27 PM
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Wonder, reducing the amount of respirable dust that the miner is exposed to is a function of air quantity, water, and certain technology in the form of devices the miner can wear. However, MSHA does not recognize the use of these devices to protect the miner, but depends basically on air and water. Many plans the operators must submit and adhere to also involve where the miner must be in relation to the mining machine. Not recognizing wearable devices is foolhardy. Accepting the devices in the operators plan would stimulate technology and make them more effective as well as more comfortable to wear. As it is now, there is little incentive for manufacturers to invest time and money into this needed technology. This MSHA policy as well as many others actually cause potential harm to the miners they are to protect.
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wonderwhy
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11-17-08 1:19 PM
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blackrock- tell us more. your view is obviously related to this story. just trying to get the facts.
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Melvin
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11-16-08 5:28 PM
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Acousticportal: Looks like you had a double dot (..) at the end of the sentence, and the next word was "Companies". It looked like a dot com web address to what appears is an auto-censor. That is why part of the word was removed.
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acousticportal
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11-16-08 12:14 PM
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Companies got censored?
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acousticportal
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11-16-08 12:14 PM
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If you play in mud you get dirty. This situation is just like everything else..it costs money and convenience to truly be protected..****panies don't want to pay and workers don't want to wear uncomfortable equipment. On top of it more than 50% of the workers smoke cigarettes, which of course compounds the assault on the respiratory system. It won't be long until coal mining can be done with an extruder and backfiller anyway, eliminating most human workers. Dependency on fossil fuels has been the standard for energy for years, but is certainly not where we should be focused in today's world. It's time to get serious about alternative energy!
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Blackrock
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11-16-08 7:08 AM
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Change has very astute comments and insight not often seen on these blogs. The way to solve the respirable dust problem is already available, but workers must do what is required and company and federal officials must enforce it. Too often, none of this happens. Be very wary of anything that comes out of McAteers mouth.
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CHANGE
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11-16-08 6:47 AM
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WHAT A CROCK OF DUNG--CAUSES--IMPROPER VENTILATION & SPRAYER MAINTANCE ON EQUIPTMENT--IMPROPER DUST SAMPLES--NON-UNION MINES WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED- MEN SCARED OF LOSSING THEIR JOBS WILL LOAD COAL IN ANY CONDITIONS--HERE AGAIN THE BLAME SHOULD BE ON THE COMPANIES,FEDERAL & STATE INSPECTORS (NOT DOING THEIR JOBS),& THE LAZINESS OF THE WORKERS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM BREATHING THE DUST--HAVE YOU EVERY BEEN AT THE TAIL GATE OF LONGWALL MINING WHEN THEY CUT BOTH WAYS OR ON A SECTION WHERE INPROPER VENTILATION IS USED & NOT ENOUGH WATER SPRAYS WORKING PROPERLY??? SAFETY 1ST SAFETY LAST HAUL COAL OR HAUL ASS!!!!NOBODY SHOULD GET BLACK LUNG IN TODAYS MODERN MINING AND IF THEY DO IT'S THEIR OWN FAULT--ALL COMPANIES PREACH SAFETY(WHAT A JOKE)THEY REALLY DON'T WANT YOU TO USE IT IF IT SLOWS DOWN PRODUCTION...SAFETY IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBLITY BUT IT DOSEN'T ALWAYS WORK OUT THAT WAY!!! 103G
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