U.S. regulators delay rule to protect coal miners from black lung disease

In December, CG covered the news that then-U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer would "reconsider and seek comments" on portions of a rule established under the Biden administration to protect coal miners. The proposed rule was intended to mitigate the incurable but preventable black lung disease by bringing miners' exposure limits to airborne silica down to 50 micrograms as well as requiring silica testing in more mines and enhancing medical surveillance. 

In early April, West Virginia Watch reported that the Mine Safety and Health Administration would delay implementation of the rule for "at least the fourth time" and, this time, indefinitely, pending a federal court case. 

Lisa Emery, Director of the New River Health Breathing Center and Black Lung Clinic, told the outlet that the situation was frustrating but that it won't alter her work. 

"We will keep marching on and we will continue to do our best for our communities that remain at risk," Emery said. "We will keep collecting data, we will care for our miners, educate them about their options, help them access benefits and medical care."

According to West Virginia Watch, miners appear to be getting diagnosed with black lung disease at younger and younger ages, in part because, after generations of extraction, workers need to cut through "more silica-rich sandstone ... to reach the coal that remains." 

In addition to emerging considerations across newly affected age ranges — including extended terms of care for those diagnosed earlier in their careers — gendered impacts on a largely but not exclusively male workforce are at play.

The great majority of black lung — or coal workers' pneumoconiosis — cases have been diagnosed in men, with the potential to impact not only physical but also mental well-being amid devastating health declines and economic losses.

It's also worth noting that "women are often underrepresented in coal mining research," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted an analysis to address this gap in 2024. Women do mine in the industry and can become sick, however. They are also often a part of community advocacy for miners affected by black lung and have sometimes lost jobs outside of the industry as they focus on caring for family members.

Kentucky outlet WYMT noted that the silica rule is meant to protect not only coal miners but also workers at "metal and nonmetal mines."

Rebecca Shelton, Director of Policy at the Appalachian Citizens' Law Center, called on the Trump administration to act: "It is on you to stop the delays. Put a strong rule in place and fight to enforce it before any other miners get black lung."