Calls For Change Follow NPR/Frontline Black Lung Investigation
Federal regulations for silica dust in coal mines haven't changed in decades. But since an NPR/Frontline report into black lung, some are calling for a new response.
Thousands of coal miners are dying from an advanced form of black lung disease, and federal regulators could have prevented it if they'd paid closer attention to their own data.
That's the conclusion of a joint NPR/Frontline investigation that aired last month and continues tonight on PBS.
The regulatory system that is supposed to protect coal miners from exposure to toxic silica dust failed to prevent dangerous exposures more than 21,000 times since 1986, according to data collected by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and.
