Coal miners are getting new protections from silica dust linked to black lung disease

The Labor Department has issued a new rule intended to protect coal miners from poisonous silica dust that has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of mine workers from a respiratory ailment known as “black lung” disease. The rule announced Tuesday cuts by half the permissible exposure limit for crystalline silica for an eight-hour shift. Mine workers, advocates and elected officials from Appalachian states pushed for the stricter rule, noting that health problems have grown in recent years as miners dig deeper o gain access to coal seams where surface deposit have long been tapped. In Central Appalachia, an estimated one in five tenured coal miners has black lung disease.