black lung disease

He still struggles with black lung disease, she said, and joint pain from time spent crawling underground.

The increased drilling generates deadly silica dust and has caused severe forms of pneumoconiosis, better known as black lung disease, even among younger miners, some in their 30s and 40s.

He was a longtime promoter of mine safety and federal benefits and regulations to protect coal miners with black lung disease.

The bill is modeled after a compensation program for coal miners disabled by black lung disease, under the provisions of a 1969 law, Vasquez said.

Silica dust is 20 times more toxic than coal dust and causes severe forms of black lung disease even after a few years of exposure.