What Is Black Lung?

Posted by Wet Earth on August 29th, 2016

Black lung sounds like a scary disease, and in true, it is.  Also known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, black lung is due to long exposure to coal dust. It is a disease that is common among coal miners as well as those who work with coal.  Black lung is an irreversible lung disease that underlines the need for mining companies to have dust control systems or mine dust control in their work sites.

Cause

Black lung is brought about by the inhalation and accumulation of coal dust. Severity of the disease may depend on the type of coal dust, the amount of dust particles in the air, and the length of time that the worker has been exposed to it.

Prolonged exposure causes the inhaled dust particles to overpower the defense mechanisms of the lung. The dust particles gather in the areas of the lung where oxygen from the air is taken up by the blood. When carbon dioxide waste is released from the blood into the air, inflammation and scarring of the lung tissue happen.

Symptoms

In the early stages of the disease, the accumulation of dust and affected lung tissue will be very small, rounded opacities on x-rays.  Patients will likely experience symptoms such as chronic cough and shortness of breath.  But continued exposure to coal dust may cause the progression of the ailment into a more severe form called progressive massive fibrosis.

When the disease further progresses, debilitating symptoms may be experienced or noticed by the sufferer such as:

• Chronic cough
• Shortness of breath
• Coughing up black mucus
• Heart problems
• High blood pressure
• Diagnosis and treatment

Black lung disease is diagnosed through chest X-rays and a review of the patient’s occupational history. Lung function tests may also help in determining the extent of the damage on the lungs.

Unfortunately, there is no treatment yet for this type of disease. Complications can be treated, however. In the United States, the government may assist in the treatment of coal mine workers. However, only those who have been permanently disabled by the disease are qualified for such assistance.

Extent

Numerous reports indicate that more and more miners have been afflicted with this disease. In the United States, there has been resurgence in the number of ex-coal mining workers who have been diagnosed with the disease.  As early as the 2000s, black lung was thought to be totally eradicated in the US but a report in 2014 showed that at least 3 percent of coal mine workers in the central Appalachian states are afflicted with the disease.

Black lung can be prevented by controlling dust in the workplace. Thus coal mining firms are encouraged to have mine dust control or dust control systems in their respective sites.

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