If you or someone you love worked in a coal mine and has become ill, you might wonder how long a person can live with black lung.

How Many Coal Miners Die After Living with Black Lung?

According to a CDC study, workers are dying of black lung more quickly than they were a few decades back. For unknown reasons, a very aggressive form of black lung called progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) has been seen more frequently. Black lung’s progression to PMF appears to affect the life expectancy of sufferers.

The amount of potential lost years of life went from 8.1 years to 12.6 years per patient who died, the CDC reports. The increase in lost years of life was seen between 2003 and 2016.

The CDC’s report found an 8.6-fold increase in workers diagnosed with PMF-level black lung between the 1990s and the years 2008 to 2012. All of the coal miners were in the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program and worked in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.

Nearly 78,000 deaths have been attributed to black lung since the late 1960s.

What is Black Lung?

Black lung, also called coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, is a disease that develops when a worker inhales coal dust, according to WebMD.

The fine powder that is coal dust settles into the lungs. In an effort to expel the dust, the body sends white blood cells in a futile attempt to chemically digest the dust particles. The white blood cells eventually die, and upon their death, release enzymes that instigate damaging inflammation deep inside the tissue of the lungs. Persistent inflammation causes scarring, a condition also called fibrosis.

What Are Symptoms of Black Lung?

Like most lung ailments, black lung can take years or even decades to develop. Most diagnoses occur among retired coal miners over the age of 50.

Patients who live with black lung may exhibit symptoms such as a cough that may be accompanied by black sputum, shortness of breath and chest tightness.

How Is Black Lung Diagnosed?

A doctor will most likely order a chest x-ray and/or a CT scan to look for spots or tumors on the lungs as well as any indications of inflammation.

Why Don’t Coal Miners Wear Protective Gear?

Coal miners do wear protective gear, including dust masks or safety respirators. Some coal miners allege the masks they were issued that were made by the 3M company were defective, allowing coal dust and other irritants to reach their lungs.

The purportedly defective 3M masks were sold by several companies, including Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, Eastern States Mine Supply, Fairmont Supply Company, Persinger Supply Company, Raleigh Mine and Industrial Supply, Mine Safety Appliances, American Optical Corp. and Kentucky Mine Supply Company.

Has 3M Been Held Responsible for the Allegedly Defective 3M Masks?

In April 2018, the Associated Press reported that two men diagnosed with black lung were awarded more than $67 million when a Kentucky jury determined the 3M dust masks the men had received were in a “defective and unreasonably dangerous condition.”

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.