Black lung disease, once the scourge of coal miners, is on the rise, according to a number of recent scientific reports. Known in the medical profession as coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, or CWP, this occupational disease results in severely compromised respiratory function, and is normally the result of incorrect or inconsistent use of respirators and safety masks. In the decades following the passage of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, rates of CWP fell by approximately 90 percent. Since the 1990s, however, the disease has been making a comeback. This is being attributed to new coal mining methods and weak enforcement of safety regulations in recent years.

Black Lung Disease Pathology

CWP is the result of long-term exposure to coal dust. The disease has similarities to silicosis and asbestosis, both of which are non-malignant diseases of the respiratory system. In all three diseases, there is a build-up of particulate matter –“the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency — in the lungs, leading to chronic inflammation and fibrosis. In the worst cases, the patient suffers necrosis of the lung tissue.

Like silica and asbestos, coal dust cannot be expelled or absorbed once it enters the lungs. Instead, the particles are attacked by antibodies that perceive them as foreign pathogens, causing the formation of scar tissue that appears as black patches on the lung. Eventually, blood flow to parts of the lung can be cut off, resulting in large “dead zones” within the lungs of black lung disease victims. Black lung is a fatal disease.

New Mining Methods May Be Responsible

According to Dr. Robert Cohen of the University of Illinois, recent toxicology studies have found that coal dust resulting from current mining methods produces extremely fine silica particles from the rock surrounding coal deposits. This combination of silica and coal dust can be as much as 2,000 percent more toxic than coal dust by itself; furthermore, silica is an established carcinogen, whereas coal dust is normally associated only with black lung disease. Speaking to MedPage Today, Dr. Cohen said that “existing regulations don’t address this very well,” adding that federal regulators need to move more aggressively in the enforcement of new standards.

Defective Safety Equipment?

Two Kentucky coal miners suffering from black lung disease recently filed a lawsuit against 3M, a Minnesota-based company specializing in industrial safety equipment. In their complaint, the coal miners claimed that respirators manufactured by the defendant were “defective and unreasonably dangerous,” failing to protect them from the disease with which they both now suffer. The jury sided with the plaintiffs, ordering 3M to pay the the coal miners $67.5 million in damages.

If the allegations are true, it would not be the first time. 3M appears to have a track record of manufacturing and marketing defective and dangerous products, including its Combat Arms Earplugs, which have been accused of failing to protect combat soldiers from hearing loss, and the Bair Hugger Surgical Warming Blanket, which has been implicated in numerous serious infections.

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