Listen to any song or watch any movie or documentary about coal mining and inevitably you’ll find yourself deep in a mountain, dim lights radiating and dust circulating in the air.
Not so in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, where the majority of coal mining takes place on the surface instead of the underground passages often associated with Appalachian mines. Yet, black lung among Wyoming coal miners is still a concern and its prompting outreach from the U.S. Department of Labor after years of local work.
Black lung disease, known formally as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, is the debilitating lung disease caused by inhaling coal dust over time. The dust scars the lungs and can leave them looking charred, hampering a person’s ability to breathe. It can be fatal, and it leaves some coal miners disabled after years of exposure with no cure.
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Common perception has held that black lung only affects underground miners, but that’s not the case, said Sarah Salveson-Jones, the program director for the Northwest Community Action Programs of Wyoming’s (NOWCAP) Black Lung Clinic based in Sheridan.
In Appalachia, black lung is engrained in the culture around coal mining, Salveson-Jones said. Unlike Wyoming, West Virginia has a state black lung program and some communities have their own black lung associations. That’s in part because the disease presents more severely. The signs of inhaled coal dust are often visible on the X-rays of underground miners, while black lung is less clear for surface miners, who often qualify for benefits based on their pulmonary function tests.
“I didn’t hear about it once over here until I started at the clinic,” Salveson-Jones said.
In Wyoming, just 25 coal miners and their families actively receive benefits for black lung, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Division of Coal Mine Workers’ Compensation, well below that of eastern states like Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
At the same time, Wyoming is the national leader in coal production, more than tripling the next closest state of West Virginia. The industry employs more than 4,600 workers, according to the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.
Though black lung is most prevalent in central Appalachia, which has seen a resurgence in the disease, research shows that it can impact surface miners, including those who have never worked underground. Surface miners can also inhale silica dust as they and their machines break rocks, leading to silicosis, another lung disease that can lead to permanent lung damage.
“Our guys just don’t come [for screening and care],” Salveson-Jones said. “They hear that surface mining does not cause black lung. They think that if they don’t work underground, they’re gonna be fine.”
Outreach
For years, NOWCAP’s black lung program has been working with coal miners in Wyoming and across the West to screen for black lung, fighting the misconception that the disease doesn’t affect surface miners and helping them to connect to medical care and apply for financial compensation under the Black Lung Benefits Act. The organization is one of 15 nationally and the only one in Wyoming to receive funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to support miners with black lung.
Through NOWCAP, miners can access free screenings that consist of a pulmonary function test and an X-ray reviewed by a doctor certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for recognizing black lung. If the miners qualify, Salveson-Jones and counselors with the organization help them to file claims with the Department of Labor and can assist them in accessing health care.
Miners disabled by black lung receive a minimum of $737.90 each month, as well as financial coverage for their medical treatment, which often includes lung rehabilitation. The disability benefits extend to dependents, so even after a miner dies from the disease their family can continue to receive compensation. Though the money may not seem enough for some, especially in light of a report released earlier this year that showed federal black lung benefits are not keeping pace with inflation, it can make a difference.
“It’s life changing for some of these people,” Salveson-Jones said.
On Tuesday, the Department of Labor announced that its Division of Coal Mine Workers’ Compensation would also conduct black lung outreach in Wyoming for the first time. From June 13 to 15, the agency alongside NOWCAP will host events for current and former coal miners at the community libraries in Rock Springs, Wright and Gillette. At the day-long events, miners will be able to learn more about eligibility for the federal disability program as well as get help filing or re-filing claims, according to a Department of Labor press release.
The educational push follows similar events in Indiana and Illinois last year and an awareness campaign the agency launched last year to inform coal miners about their rights.
Salveson-Jones said NOWCAP will continue to advocate for Wyoming coal miners with black lung while educating about the disease and the importance of screening, even for surface miners.
“They don’t have to use us, but I just want them to know,” she said.
