Howard Berkes
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A Labor Department audit found no correlation between the federal system that fines mining companies for unsafe conditions and safety in mining operations. -
Coal miners will press members of Congress to fully restore a coal excise tax that supports miners diagnosed with black lung. The tax was cut more than 50% at the end of last year. -
Federal regulations for silica dust in coal mines haven't changed in decades. But since an NPR/ Frontlinereport into black lung, some are calling for a new response. -
More than 2,000 miners in Appalachia are dying from an advanced stage of black lung. NPR and Frontline have found the government had multiple warnings and opportunities to protect them, but didn't. -
An extensive NPR and Frontline investigation finds that government data showed that thousands of miners were exposed to toxic dust. And despite multiple warnings, regulators didn't act to stop it.
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In central Appalachia, one in five working coal miners with at least 25 years experience underground now suffers from the deadly disease black lung, according to a new study. -
The cluster, found in central Appalachia and first reported by NPR, indicates that a disease once thought to be on the decline is still a common killer among coal miners. -
Coal mines comply with new dust control regulations at a near perfect rate, but that may not lead to lower rates of the deadly disease black lung, according to a new report. -
A federal trust fund for coal miners who have the deadly disease black lung could run up a $15 billion deficit if a planned funding cut happens at the end of the year. -
After NPR reporting on the Progressive Massive Fibrosis epidemic, Congress and the White House agreed to give the maximum funding authorized for clinics treating the disease in 15 coal-mining states.
