OAK HILL, W.Va. (AP) — Deep within the hills of West Virginia, coal mining and the hazards that include it have been part of households’ lives for generations. Demise and tragedy are woven into historical past, however there’s additionally a fierce legacy of miners preventing for — and profitable — protections which have benefitted staff nationwide.
As black lung charges rise amongst staff — together with these of their 30s and 40s — compelled to dig by way of extra rock crammed with lethal silica to succeed in the remaining skinny coal seams, some sick retired coal miners from central Appalachia are preventing again. They’re demanding the Trump administration implement a rule authorised final 12 months by the U.S. Mine Security and Well being Administration that may minimize the federal restrict for allowable respirable crystalline silica mud publicity by half to assist shield all sorts of miners nationwide from the present driving power of black lung and different diseases.
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The silica rule was placed on maintain earlier than it took impact in April after trade teams suing the federal government filed a request in court docket to dam it, citing prices and difficulties implementing it. The administration didn’t push again in opposition to the lawsuit, and was granted one other extension in October as a result of authorities shutdown.
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Dozens of former miners from the hard-hit area traveled to Washington final month to protest the silica rule’s delay together with cuts and proposed rollbacks to well being and security protections. Their opposition comes months after President Donald Trump signed government orders to permit coal-fired crops to pollute extra and to streamline the allowing course of and open up new areas for mineral manufacturing, together with oil and pure gasoline drilling and mining of “beautiful, clean coal.” On the time, he was celebrated on the White Home by smiling miners in exhausting hats, together with some with West Virginia stickers, as he promised to place extra folks to work underground.
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The White Home and the Labor Division insisted the administration can preserve miners’ well being and security whereas rolling again laws.
“President Trump cares about our miners more than any other president in modern history – which is why he has implemented his energy dominance agenda to protect their jobs and revive the mining industry,” mentioned White Home spokeswoman Taylor Rogers.
However some former coal miners who voted for Trump have misplaced religion in him.
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“They’re doing everything they can to hurt the working man,” mentioned Randy Lawrence, president of the Kanawha County Black Lung Affiliation, who lugged his oxygen tank to the protest. “They ain’t worried about the miners or people in West Virginia or coal miners anywhere. All they’re worried about is the almighty dollar in D.C. They don’t care about the little people that put them there.”
This can be a documentary picture story curated by AP picture editors.
