55 min listen
Struggling for Breath in Coal Country (re-release)
Struggling for Breath in Coal Country (re-release)
ratings:
Length:
15 minutes
Released:
Aug 17, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
A new rule proposed by the Labor Department could help limit coal miners' exposure to a toxic dust called silica.
“The purpose of this proposed rule is simple: prevent more miners from suffering from debilitating and deadly occupational illnesses by reducing their exposure to silica dust,” Chris Williamson, assistant secretary for mine, safety and health, said in a statement. “Silica overexposures have a real-life impact on a miner’s health.”
Williamson has said the proposal was inspired, in part, by FRONTLINE and NPR’s 2019 investigation, which exposed a link between silica dust and an epidemic of severe black lung disease.
Our documentary Coal’s Deadly Dust highlighted the resurgence of black lung — and how federal regulators and the industry had failed to protect miners.
“Struggling for Breath in Coal Country” was originally released alongside the film in 2019. In this archival episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, correspondent Howard Berkes spoke with coal miners whose lives were forever changed when they were diagnosed with the disease.
Coal’s Deadly Dust is streaming at pbs.org/frontline, in the PBS App and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.
Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
“The purpose of this proposed rule is simple: prevent more miners from suffering from debilitating and deadly occupational illnesses by reducing their exposure to silica dust,” Chris Williamson, assistant secretary for mine, safety and health, said in a statement. “Silica overexposures have a real-life impact on a miner’s health.”
Williamson has said the proposal was inspired, in part, by FRONTLINE and NPR’s 2019 investigation, which exposed a link between silica dust and an epidemic of severe black lung disease.
Our documentary Coal’s Deadly Dust highlighted the resurgence of black lung — and how federal regulators and the industry had failed to protect miners.
“Struggling for Breath in Coal Country” was originally released alongside the film in 2019. In this archival episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, correspondent Howard Berkes spoke with coal miners whose lives were forever changed when they were diagnosed with the disease.
Coal’s Deadly Dust is streaming at pbs.org/frontline, in the PBS App and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.
Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.
Released:
Aug 17, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
A Life Sentence: Victims, Offenders, Justice And My Mother: There are more than 2,000 people in prisons around the country who were convicted of murder as juveniles and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. But recent Supreme Court decisions have found these sentences unconstitutional and set in motion a process for re-evaluating these “juvenile lifers.” To close out the first season of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, we have three stories about juvenile lifers. This first is the story of a violent crime committed by a juvenile lifer whose second chance went horribly wrong. It is an intensely personal documentary, but it carries far-reaching implications that extend into public life and into the heart of our political and correctional systems.This piece was produced by Samantha Broun and Jay Allison. It was originally made in 2016 for the public radio website Transom.org. Listen to it here: https://transom.org/2016/a-life-sentence-victims-offenders-justice-and-my-mother/. We are by The FRONTLINE Dispatch