NPR

Researchers say they've linked silica dust directly to severe black lung disease

A new study links the epidemic of severe lung disease among coal miners to toxic silica dust. The findings echo a 2018 investigation by NPR and the PBS show Frontline.
A new study provides the first evidence of its kind that silica dust is responsible for the rising tide of severe black lung disease, including among coal miners in Appalachia.

Exposure to a toxic rock dust appears to be "the main driving force" behind a recent epidemic of severe black lung disease among coal miners, according to the findings of a new study. Lawmakers have debated and failed to adequately regulate the dust for decades.

The study, which examined the lungs of modern miners and compared them to miners who worked decades

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