Black Lung reaches nearly 50-year high
NIOSH findings show why the silica rule can’t wait
A new NIOSH study shows that black lung has reached its highest recorded rates in Central Appalachia in nearly 50 years, with nearly one in three long-tenured underground miners showing evidence of the disease.
Silica dust is a major driver of the resurgence of black lung in Central Appalachia and a major cause of today’s most severe cases. A federal rule adopted in 2024 to reduce miners’ exposure was supposed to take effect in April 2025, but the mining industry and the Trump Administration continue to delay its implementation.
In response to the NIOSH findings, the National Mining Association told reporters that, because black lung is a latent and progressive disease, today’s black lung rates reflect historic exposures and “do not reflect the conditions, practices, protections or regulations that are in place today.“
But MSHA’s own sampling data show that miners are still being exposed to dangerous levels of silica dust.
Our analysis of MSHA sampling from the first half of 2026 found:
- MSHA sampled fewer than half of all active coal mines and facilities.
- 17% of operations sampled had silica concentrations above the exposure limit established by the delayed 2024 rule.
- Seventeen mines recorded silica levels more than twice that limit, with most of those mines located in Central Appalachia.
Under the 2024 rule, exposures above the limit would require immediate corrective action and additional testing. Because the rule remains unenforced, those protections are not being implemented.
Behind the numbers: the true cost of black lung
ACLC recently prevailed in a near decade-long benefits case for the family of a miner who had worked underground for 21 years. The miner became so ill with black lung that he required oxygen nearly around the clock.
His widow testified that the last words she heard him say were, “God, hurry,” because he could no longer breathe.
After his death in 2014, his widow filed for survivor benefits in 2017. The coal company continued to fight the claim for nearly nine years, appealing multiple decisions in her favor all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
This summer, the court denied the company’s petition, finally bringing the case to a close. Tragically, the miner’s widow died in 2024 before the litigation ended. Her children will now receive the benefits she was owed.
Congress passes disaster recovery reform
After years of advocacy, Congress has passed legislation that authorizes and reforms a key federal disaster recovery program, making funding more predictable for communities recovering from disasters.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, signed into law in July, includes a key recommendation from ACLC’s Appalachian Flood Resilience Policy Platform: authorization of the Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery program. CDBG-DR provides flexible funding for states, Tribes, and local communities to fill gaps left by FEMA and other disaster assistance programs.
For Eastern Kentucky communities still recovering from catastrophic flooding, the program could help get resources to families and communities faster.
Read ACLC’s June update on the disaster recovery legislation.
Working together for safe, affordable water and healthy watersheds
ACLC continues to partner with residents and community groups through the East Kentucky Water Network, which we helped found in 2019 to connect advocates working on drinking water and watershed challenges across the region.
Since then, EKWN has grown from a handful of water leaders to a coalition of seven core groups. Members work together to advocate for stronger protections for waterways and water consumers, support state and national policy efforts, and push back against legislation that would weaken water protections.
This fall, EKWN will hold its first retreat, giving members time to strengthen relationships, set goals for the next several years, and find better ways to support one another’s work.
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