Two West Virginia coal miners with black lung disease testified before a federal judge on Wednesday during a hearing on the Trump administration’s decision to effectively shutter a program that provides free screenings to coal miners, a move advocates have said threatens to bring more disease and death to coal-dependent communities across Appalachia.
Last month, the Trump administration fired roughly two-thirds of the staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the division of the Department of Health and Human Services that provides the free screenings for the disease through the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program, The Washington Post previously reported.
Black lung is a deadly and incurable disease caused by inhaling toxic coal dust. NIOSH epidemiologists recently found that 1 in 5 longtime coal miners in Central Appalachia have black lung, the highest level recorded in 25 years. The fired staff also oversaw a job transfer program called Part 90 that entitles coal miners to transfer to work in a less dusty part of the mine if they develop early signs of the disease.
As a result of the layoffs, the health surveillance program is no longer “providing any new medical screenings to coal miners or accepting any new requests for review of medical information to determine coal miners’ rights for transfer to low-dust jobs,” according to a notice posted on the program website.
Follow Trump’s second term
U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger of the Southern District of Western Virginia heard Wednesday from a health-care worker, miners suffering from black lung, and current and former NIOSH employees in the hearing.
Lawyers for the coal miners argue that in not processing X-rays and applications for job transfers, the Trump administration is violating the agency’s mandatory duties as outlined in the landmark 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act.
The class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of dozens of coal miners seeks to fully restore the NIOSH Respiratory Health Division in Morgantown, West Virginia, and, if the agency moves forward with the firings, require officials to submit quarterly reports explaining how they will continue to run the mandated programs.
“President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are fully committed to supporting and protecting our nation’s coal miners,” HHS press secretary Emily G. Hilliard said Thursday. “We take these matters seriously and will continue to raise well-being of coal miners across the country.” The White House and NIOSH did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
President Donald Trump has cast himself as a champion for the coal industry and West Virginia coal miners. Trump last month promised to end “Joe Biden’s war on beautiful, clean coal once and for all,” as he signed four executive orders aimed at boosting the industry by loosening various restrictions on coal mining, leasing and exports.
Last month, the Trump administration fired roughly two-thirds of the staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the division of the Department of Health and Human Services that provides the free screenings for the disease through the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program, The Washington Post previously reported.
Black lung is a deadly and incurable disease caused by inhaling toxic coal dust. NIOSH epidemiologists recently found that 1 in 5 longtime coal miners in Central Appalachia have black lung, the highest level recorded in 25 years. The fired staff also oversaw a job transfer program called Part 90 that entitles coal miners to transfer to work in a less dusty part of the mine if they develop early signs of the disease.
As a result of the layoffs, the health surveillance program is no longer “providing any new medical screenings to coal miners or accepting any new requests for review of medical information to determine coal miners’ rights for transfer to low-dust jobs,” according to a notice posted on the program website.
Follow Trump’s second term
U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger of the Southern District of Western Virginia heard Wednesday from a health-care worker, miners suffering from black lung, and current and former NIOSH employees in the hearing.
Lawyers for the coal miners argue that in not processing X-rays and applications for job transfers, the Trump administration is violating the agency’s mandatory duties as outlined in the landmark 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act.
The class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of dozens of coal miners seeks to fully restore the NIOSH Respiratory Health Division in Morgantown, West Virginia, and, if the agency moves forward with the firings, require officials to submit quarterly reports explaining how they will continue to run the mandated programs.
“President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are fully committed to supporting and protecting our nation’s coal miners,” HHS press secretary Emily G. Hilliard said Thursday. “We take these matters seriously and will continue to raise well-being of coal miners across the country.” The White House and NIOSH did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
President Donald Trump has cast himself as a champion for the coal industry and West Virginia coal miners. Trump last month promised to end “Joe Biden’s war on beautiful, clean coal once and for all,” as he signed four executive orders aimed at boosting the industry by loosening various restrictions on coal mining, leasing and exports.
