FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2025
CONTACTS:
Chelsea Barnes, Director of Government Affairs and Strategy at Appalachian Voices, chelsea@appvoices.org, 614 205-6424
Gary Hairston, President of the National Black Lung Association, 304-575-7898
Vonda Robinson, Vice President of the National Black Lung Association, 276-219-5925
Rebecca Shelton, Director of Policy at Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, rshelton@aclc.org
Today, more than 80 coal miners, members of Black Lung Associations, and other supporters rallied outside of the Department of Labor building in Washington, D.C., to protest the delay in implementing long-awaited silica dust protections for coal miners, along with funding and staffing cuts to mine safety and research.
Silica dust exposure is a significant factor in the rise in severe cases of black lung disease. In spite of its known toxicity, miners are still exposed to higher levels of silica than any other American worker. In April 2024, the Mine Safety and Health Administration finalized a long-overdue rule to protect coal and other miners from silica dust. The rule was supposed to go into effect in April 2025, but is still under a court stay due to a lawsuit from the mining industry. Now, that litigation continues to block the life-saving protections. Rather than counter industry proposals to modify and stay the rule, the Trump Administration is negotiating with them.
Every day that miners are denied protections from deadly silica dust increases their risk of contracting black lung disease.
Gary Hairston, President of the National Black Lung Association, appealed to Congress, “I’ve been coming up here for 20-some years to get this silica rule and get it enforced. Congress y’all ain’t doing nothing for us. We need you all to stand up for us coal miners. You have us stand beside you when you run for election, and now we need your help. We need your help right now. We need the silica rule. We need it enforced.”
“We’re tired of seeing 28-year-olds with complicated black lung. We saw a 35-year-old die last week. These people are not going to see their children grow up. This rule has to be enforced. We know our leaders are behind the coal companies, but we need them to get behind coal miners. Without miners, there is no industry. We’re asking President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Congressman Griffith to get this done. We need your Republican support to get this passed because, without this, it’s an early death sentence for our miners. And they deserve to be able to breathe, they deserve to be able to go home to their families. We’re here to make America healthy again, too. We need that for our miners. We need your help with this rule,” said Vonda Robinson, Vice President of the National Black Lung Association.
“We know that black lung is caused by coal dust exposure in coal mines. It is irreversible. The most important thing to do is to prevent it. We can’t cure it. We can’t expect rates of severe black lung to go down until stronger silica dust limits are instituted and enforced,” said Dr. Leonard Go, pulmonologist and Assistant Director of the Mining and Education Research Center at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health.
Brian Sanson, International Secretary-Treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America, stated, “The head of MSHA put a complete stop to the rule back in April. Now, the issue is in court. When the union saw that the Mine Safety and Health Administration wasn’t willing to stand up for coal miners, we stepped in. We filed briefs with the court but were rejected. Worse, MSHA actively fought to keep us from participating in the legal battle. The agency that’s supposed to protect coal miners doesn’t have the will to do it, and even worse, it’s preventing the union from doing that job as well. Every day this rule is delayed, the situation becomes more dangerous.”
Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America, closed with these remarks, “We petition the President of the United States, the director of MSHA, and the Secretary of Labor to stand and fight for the people of Appalachia. We want representation, we want healthcare, we want to end this plague that’s going on in the coalfields of the United States. Let’s lift those up today who are suffering from pneumoconiosis, those on oxygen, those in wheelchairs, we ask our government to see us, see us and do something for us. Let’s stop the killing in Appalachia. All we want is justice. We want fairness. And we want it right now.”
Background:
In April, MSHA voluntarily delayed the rule to protect miners from silica dust, blaming mass layoffs at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health conducted by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The mining industry also challenged the rule in court, where the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals put an indefinite pause on the rule after the administration failed to oppose the industry’s request. The next court hearing is scheduled for later this month, more than six months after the originally planned enforcement date.
This assault on the silica rule is only one of multiple ways that the Trump administration has attacked mine safety since taking office. In February, the Department of Government Efficiency announced that nearly three dozen MSHA offices were scheduled for closure, which would have forced mine inspectors to work out of offices that are further from the mines they must inspect, causing concern that inspections would be rushed and discretionary inspections reduced. Following public pressure, the administration reversed its decision to close most of those offices. In April, one of the divisions at NIOSH that received termination notices was the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program. This team does vital work to provide free medical exams to coal miners and study trends in black lung disease. Kennedy eventually reversed many of these layoffs, but other important workers and functions at NIOSH have yet to be restored.
Photo Credits: Chelsea Barnes, Appalachian Voices
