Miners Seek Stronger Black Lung Protections
Health professionals and mining families raised concerns about dust exposure and access to disability benefits.
- By Chelsey Arries
- Oct 01, 2026
Coal miners, family members and health professionals met with federal lawmakers in Washington to seek stronger dust protections and changes to disability benefits for workers with black lung disease.
Participants traveled from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The delegation included relatives of miners who had died from the disease.
The group supported the proposed Support Our Miners Act, which would increase black lung disability payments and tie future adjustments to inflation. Participants also sought implementation of federal protections against exposure to respirable crystalline silica.
MSHA’s silica rule establishes an exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, averaged over an eight-hour period. Enforcement remains paused under a federal appeals court order, while previously applicable standards remain in force.
During a forum, clinicians described the severity of lung disease among Appalachian miners and the challenges patients face when seeking benefits.
Dr. Drew Harris, medical director of Stone Mountain Health Services, reported an increase in patients with silica-related lung disease. Lisa Emery, director of the New River Health Breathing Center in West Virginia, described more severe disease among Appalachian miners, including younger workers and those with experience in smaller mines.
Speakers also discussed obstacles to obtaining federal disability benefits. Monica Glagola, a respiratory therapist at the Lungs at Work clinic in Pennsylvania, emphasized the assistance miners need to navigate medical documentation and legal requirements during the application process.
About the Author
Chelsey Arries is assistant editor for Security Today, Campus Security Today, Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Protection Online.