It has not been a very good year for the American coal industry, as both exports and price per ton continue to trend downward, but it’s been even worse for the coal miners themselves.
Last week, the Trump administration approved yet another delay in the implementation of a Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rule to lower miners’ exposure to deadly silica dust. The National Sand, Stone and Gravel Association sued to block the rule back in April — and instead of voicing any opposition to the suit or support for the rule, the Trump Labor Department has ignored the miners’ plight in favor of well-heeled corporate interests.
After years of organizing by miners and advocacy groups, the silica rule was finally supposed to take effect in April but was then pushed back due to “unforeseen NIOSH restructuring.” Translation: the administration, via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was then busy dismantling the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and its black lung monitoring program (then frantically restoring the program under court order following a class action lawsuit from West Virginia coal miners).
Now, coal industry interests have been allowed to kick the can down the road yet again and secured yet another delay, this time until at least October, while the lawsuit proceeds. Meanwhile, one in five veteran coal miners in Appalachia are suffering from black lung, an incurable respiratory disease that kills its victims slowly and painfully. Black lung cases have been on the rise due to widespread overexposure in crystalline respirable silica, which is twenty times more toxic than coal dust and has been impacting a younger generation of workers.
“This delay is simply a death sentence for more miners,” United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) international president Cecil E. Roberts said in a statement. “The fact that an industry association with no stake in coal mining can hold up…
Auteur: Kim Kelly
