Trump wants to weaken coal miner protections as black lung disease makes a comeback

[applegrove]

https://thinkprogress.org/as-black-lung-disease-makes-comeback-trump-seeks-to-weaken-coal-miner-protections-3c802d50eaab/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

By Mark Hand at Think Progress

"SNIP....

After reaching a low point in the late 1990s, new studies are showing that black lung disease has made a startling resurgence, especially among coal workers in the central Appalachian region.

More than 10 percent of America’s coal miners with 25 or more years of experience have black lung disease, also known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. In central Appalachia — areas of West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee — it’s even higher. More than 20 percent of coal workers in the area with the same amount of tenure have been diagnosed with the disease, according to a new study by experts at the federal government’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The dramatic increase in cases of black lung disease is occurring at the same time that the Trump administration is seeking ways weaken coal dust rules that protect coal miners from the disease — a move that would reduce costs for coal companies, which have been strong financial backers of Trump.

Black lung is a common term for several respiratory diseases that share a single cause: breathing in coal mine dust. Over time, black lung disease causes a person’s lungs to become coated in the black particulates that miners inhaled during their time in the mines. Their passageways are marked by dark scars and hard nodules.



......SNIP"

[beachbum bob]

1. will not be popular with actual coal miners and their families

[RKP5637]

3. So damn bad they listened to this pathetic huckster rather than those with intelligence and plans.

[beachbum bob]

5. this a give away to the coal mine owners and the miners themselves may take an exception to it

piss people off enough, they will react

[RKP5637]

7. As their situation grows worse with this huckster clown in power, maybe they will

finally grasp what is going on, that they are severely being used for their vote.

[beachbum bob]

14. The trump assault with rising prices due to tariffs, lost jobs will

eventually have an effect. The pain has to real and the source so obvious.

[Garrett78]

6. And they'll still vote for Republicans.

[RKP5637]

2. Most stupid and ignorant president ever as will be documented in history and educational

institutions well into the future ... infinity.

[Corgigal]

4. And then NO Medicaid for you.

After the company fires for for some lame reason, you have to work 20 hours to get health insurance.

See how they run...( inserted a Beatles song here).

[Garrett78]

8. As with rolling back Endangered Species Act protections, it's all about the money.

This is why a general strike (absent Democrats being in power) is just about the only thing that would prevent this kind of shit. The people getting rich have to face consequences that outweigh the gains they make (like if 100 million people stopped going to work or stopped shopping for a week or two). It's why advertiser boycotts (in response to remarks made by media personnel) are effective. It's all about the money.

[smirkymonkey]

9. Because now we have "Clean Coal"!

They don't need it anymore! So much winning!

If these miners vote for Trump again, they deserve everything they get.

[Achilleaze]

10. So the republicans lied to the coal miners. Like they lie to everyone.

Here's an important message for the coal miners from Dirty Donny, the republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief.

[liberal N proud]

11. All through appilacia, trumpkins believe

They believe coal is going to make a comeback

[we can do it]

12. More idiots voting against their own best interest.

Refuse to listen to facts, suffer the consequences.

[eleny]

13. This is criminal

[yortsed snacilbuper]

15. My Dad told me the company gets the profits and the miners get the shaft,

he died from black lung.

[applegrove]

16. So sorry. Vibes to your family.

[MiniMe]

17. My grandfather died from black lung

He was about to retire, and died just before he retired. The coal company tried to say he retired before he died. It made a big difference for survivor benefits. My grandmother was in court for years over that. She did eventually win.

[Crunchy Frog]

18. Well, that's what they voted for. n/t

[Vinca]

19. Exactly. And he's making health care harder to get, too.

[Captain Stern]

20. Coal miners with Black Lung Disease are losers.

trump only likes coal miners that don't get Black Lung Disease.