Trump says coal is "a great business." One in three veteran Appalachian miners has black lung

Black lung disease among veteran Appalachian coal miners has climbed back to levels last seen in 1978, according to Boing Boing, even as the Trump administration holds stronger silica-dust protections in limbo. After a century of mining, the region's remaining thin coal seams require cutting through far more quartz-rich rock — the likely driver of the silica exposure behind the resurgence.

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