Trump's job cuts undermine black lung protections as he targets coal revival

Josh Cochran has been working in West Virginia coal mines since he was 22, earning a six-figure income that enabled him to purchase a house with his wife Stephanie, and go hunting and fishing in his free time.

He was diagnosed with advanced lung disease at 43 years old. He is now awaiting a lung donation, uses an oxygen tank to breathe, and requires his wife's help with basic household tasks.

He says that his saving grace is the fact that he still has a job. Part 90, a federal program administered by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, allowed him to be relocated to a desk-based job at the same company when he received his diagnosis. He retained his salary.

"Part 90 is all you have," he said, while signing documents for the transplant. It was a simple job that left him exhausted. "You can make what you have made and they won't be able to get rid of you." This program, which relocates black lung coal miners to safer jobs with the same pay, is coming to an end due to the mass layoffs, office closures, and other measures imposed by Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Interviews with over a dozen individuals involved in medical programs for the coal industry and an examination of NIOSH internal documents show that three federal programs in this area have ceased to operate in recent weeks. NIOSH has suspended a decades-old lung disease detection program for coal miners. As well, related programs that provided x-rays at mine sites and lung tests have been shut down. It is also unclear who will enforce safety rules like the new limits on exposure to silica dust after nearly half of MSHA's offices were scheduled to be terminated.

The government's mass cuts and funding cuts led to the cancellation of the black lung program. Details about this had not been previously reported.

Anita Wolfe said, "It will be devastating for miners," a veteran of NIOSH with 40 years' experience who is still in contact with the agency. Nobody will be monitoring mines. Trump has voiced support for the domestic industry of coal, which historically supported him.

Trump signed an executive order to promote the coal industry at a White House event flanked by hard-hatted coal workers earlier this month. This included extending the life expectancy of coal-fired plants that are aging.

Jeff Crowe said, "Coal has been a dirty term that many are afraid to use," Trump identified him as a West Virginia coal miner. Crowe is superintendent of American Consolidated Natural Resources (ACN), the successor to Murray Energy.

Trump declared during the ceremony, "We will put the miner back to work." "They're great people with great families and come from areas that we love and respect."

Andrew Nixon, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees NIOSH said that streamlining government would better position HHS so it can carry out its Congressionally-mandated work to protect Americans.

MSHA representatives and White House representatives did not respond to comments.

The incidence of black lung has increased over the past two decades. This is despite the fact that coal production has declined.

NIOSH estimates 20% of coal miner in Central Appalachia suffers from black lung disease. This is the highest rate in 25 years. Workers in these aging mines blast rock to reach diminishing coal deposits. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the coal industry employs around 43,000 people.

MORE MINING, MORE RISE

Three sources within NIOSH claim that around 875 employees of the roughly 1,000 strong NIOSH workforce were terminated across the nation as a result of HHS's sweeping job cuts this month. According to an email from NIOSH dated April 4, the flagship black lung program of the department, the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program has been put on hold.

We will continue to process all the information we have as long as possible. The email states that "we have no more information regarding the future of CWHSP."

According to sources familiar, the CWHSP has also stopped its regular black lung screenings. These tests were conducted on site by mobile trailers in coal mines. There was no money for fuel or to pay epidemiologists to review on-site lung tests or x-rays.

According to NIOSH veteran Wolfe, for many miners this program is their only source of medical checksups.

The loss of NIOSH staff has also affected the ability of black lung infected miners to receive relocation with pay under the Part 90 program.

NIOSH will only accept lung x-rays that reveal black lung. Scott Laney who was laid off as an epidemiologist at NIOSH in West Virginia, said that all NIOSH employees required to review x-rays had been fired.

Laney said he, his laid-off colleagues and a "war room" informal in his living room have been working to bring attention to this issue among Washington legislators.

"I want them to be protected while they are working, if they are sent into mines by executive order or any other mechanism," he said.

Sam Petsonk is a West Virginia lawyer who represents black lung sufferers. He said that relocating sick miner's to other areas where there are less dusty conditions was crucial, because of the severe risks associated with continuing to work while ill.

He said, "It's getting to the point where days and months are important for this program."

SILICA THREAT MSHA finalized a regulation last year that would reduce by half the permissible limit of exposure to crystalline silicon for miners and workers - a move to combat the increasing rates of black lung.

Chris Williamson said that the Trump administration pushed the implementation of the rule back to August from April, and it may be difficult to enforce, given the planned office closures and staff reductions at MSHA. Williamson was a former assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health under the Biden Administration.

He said that there were still 20 unfilled mine inspector positions when he left MSHA. After Trump's election, 90 people who had been offered MSHA inspector jobs had their offers rescinded, and 120 others took buyouts.

Mine inspectors have the responsibility of ensuring safety standards in mines to reduce accidents, illnesses and deaths.

The loss of resources and staff could make black lung more prevalent among Appalachian miners, especially if mining activities increase, said Drew Harris a black-lung specialist in southern Virginia.

He said, "It's difficult for me to cut back on resources to prevent this disease after seeing hundreds of mine workers with it."

Kevin Weikle is a 35-year old West Virginia miner who was diagnosed in 2023 with advanced black lung during a screening. He said that the cuts are not logical at a time when the administration wants coal production to increase and will push safety standards back by decades.

"Don't get me wrong, I mean, I'm Republican," Weikle said. "But I believe there are safer ways to produce coal without compromising safety." (Reporting and editing by Richard Valdmanis, Anna Driver, and Valerie Volcovici)

(source: Reuters)