Howard Berkes

2 weeks ago | publichealthwatch.org | Howard Berkes |Curtis Tate

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked enforcement of a new rule to limit silica dust exposure for coal and other miners. The rule, from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), was imposed last year in response to an epidemic of severe black lung disease among coal miners. Reporting by NPR, Public Health Watch, and Louisville Public Media documented more than 4,000 cases of advanced black lung that had been previously unreported.

Apr 16, 2024 | kosu.org | Howard Berkes

On Tuesday, federal officials posted new rules to protect coal and other miners from toxic silica dust, a growing problem in mines that has left thousands sick and dying. It took mine safety regulators 50 years to do what federal researchers had long urged: make the exposure limit to silica dust twice as restrictive as currently allowed and directly regulate exposure so citations and fines are possible when miners are overexposed.

Jan 22, 2024 | wvpublic.org | Bill Lynch |Mason Adams |Howard Berkes |Kelley Libby

Black lung disease is back. In fact, it never went away. Now, younger and younger miners are living with a particularly nasty form of black lung disease. Regulators and the coal industry have known about the problem for decades — but they’ve been slow to respond. One reporter asks, “What would happen if thousands of workers in any other industry got sick and died just because of where they worked?” This week, we’re talking about the black lung epidemic, Inside Appalachia.

Sep 11, 2023 | wvpublic.org | Bill Lynch |Mason Adams |Kelley Libby |Howard Berkes

This week, Rev. George Mills Dickerson of Tazewell, Virginia was born in the years after slavery ended. He’s remembered today through his poetry. And a new wave of black lung disease is ravaging Appalachia. We’ll hear more from a black lung town hall in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Coal miners have their own thoughts about black lung, too. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

Sep 4, 2023 | register-herald.com | Howard Berkes |Justin Hicks

This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter. ---The gravesite in Danny Smith’s vast and verdant yard is shaded by hulking trees. His parents’ graves are adjacent and marked by a massive headstone. In summer, crickets chirp, birds sing, and leaves rustle in the breeze. It is a peaceful spot for Smith’s final resting place. And it’s ready.