BEAVER, W.Va. (AP) — Laboring to breathe, West Virginia coal miner Terry Lilly told federal regulators Thursday he is appreciative the U.S. government is finally considering a proposal to limit the poisonous rock dust causing a severe resurgence of black lung.

But Lilly said the rule — a half-century in the making — will mean nothing if there aren’t strict enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure companies comply.

“Cheating the samples is what we need to stop. If we can stop this, we can save some lives,” said Lilly, asking officials to excuse him as a took a pause to catch his breath. He’s now limited to 40% lung capacity, he said.

Lilly was one of the dozens of miners and advocates who came to the historic coal-mining county in West Virginia’s southern coalfields to discuss a proposed rule from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration that would cut the current limit for silica dust exposure in half.

During an emotional, hours-long hearing — the second of three before public comment on the proposal ends next month — miners spoke about their fear of retaliation for speaking up about unsafe dust levels and being asked by companies to help falsify samples. They said the government needs more inspectors to spend more time in the mines making sure existing rules are followed. Otherwise, new regulation won’t make a meaningful difference, they said.

“When I speak about this, people look at me like I’m stupid,” Lilly, who said miners don’t always feel like the federal government takes their concerns seriously. “I’ve got 30 years of experience. I know the tricks and how they operate.”

President of the National Black Lung Association Gary Hairston, who lives in neighboring Fayette County, said that too often, miners have to choose between their safety and their livelihood.

“We can fix this when we start making the coal mining companies responsible for what they’re doing,” said Hairston, becoming emotional speaking into the microphone wearing a “black lung kills shirt. “I wish the coal miner – us – that we would come forward – but we’re scared. In a non-union mine, you ain’t got representation. We know they’ll get rid of us.”

Silicosis, commonly referred to as black lung, is an occupational pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust present in minerals like sandstone. The problem has only grown in recent years as miners dig through more layers of rock to get to less accessible coal, generating deadly silica dust in the process. Silica dust is 20 times more toxic than coal dust and causes severe forms of black lung disease even after a few years of exposure.

An estimated one in five tenured miners in Central Appalachia has black lung disease; one in 20 has the most disabling form of black lung.

The proposed federal rule, published in the Federal Register last month, cuts the permissible exposure limit for silica dust from 100 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for an 8-hour shift in coal, metal and nonmetal mines such as sand and gravel.

The proposal is in line with exposure levels imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on construction and other non-mining industries. And it’s the standard The Centers for Disease Control was recommending as far back as 1974.

Old wounds over mine safety run deep in West Virginia’s southern coalfields, where thousands of miners 100 years ago marched to unionize in the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed uprising in the United States since the Civil War.

In the 1940s and 1950s, roughly half of West Virginia workers were employed in heavy industries like coal, steel and glass, and the majority of those workers belonged to a union. By 2022, however, only 10% of West Virginia workers were represented by unions, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Hairston said that with the waning of union representation, miners have lost advocates they could rely on ensure regulations are being enforced.

Attorney Sam Petsonk, who has represented coal miners who were diagnosed with black lung after companies violated safety violations, said a silica rule is long overdue. But he is concerned that the rule requires no routine sampling and contains no specific monetary penalties for exceeding silica dust limits.

The rule also allows miners to work in higher-than-allowable levels of dust on a temporary basis if they wear respirators and companies are working on bringing exposure down to safer levels. Petsonk said respirators are ineffective while performing heavy labor in hot, confined spaces, and that inspectors are not present enough to ensure they don’t become a permanent solution.

The National Mining Association has said it would like to see respiratory protection equipment be used as a method of compliance with the rule.

The organization, which represents operators, said in a statement last month that ventilation controls, strict adherence to mine ventilation control plans, increased operator and miner safety awareness, and a 2014 rule regulating coal dust have “all contributed to exponentially lower dust levels inside the mine.”

Mine, Safety and Health Administration Deputy Secretary Patricia Silvey said if inspectors see evidence of overexposure, operators will have to take immediate “corrective action,” which could mean implementing engineering controls. The government makes a record of the infraction and ensures retesting to make sure the action is working, she said.

Willie Dodson, Central Appalachian field coordinator for advocacy group Appalachian Voices, said the nation has a current epidemic of black lung now that is “built in part on the current enforcement mechanisms and deficiencies.”

“If MSHA gets this wrong, we will look back on this process as its own sort of tragedy — a moment when we came close to doing right by coal miners, but ultimately failed them,” he said.

United Mine Workers of America Director of Occupational Health and Safety Josh Roberts asked regulators to look at the proposed rule and ask this: “Does this section open the door for cheating or gaming the system?”

“Everybody wants the rule to be the best that it can be this go-round because you might not get another bite at the apple for a long time,” he said.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A half-century ago, the nation’s top health experts urged the federal agency in charge of mine safety to adopt strict rules protecting miners from poisonous rock dust.

The inaction since — fueled by denials and lobbying from coal and other industries — has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of miners from pneumoconiosis, more commonly known as “black lung.” The problem has only grown in recent years as miners dig through more layers of rock to get to less accessible coal, generating deadly silica dust in the process.

One former regulator called the lack of protection from silica-related illnesses “stunning” and one of the most “catastrophic” occupational health failures in U.S. history.

Now the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has proposed a rule that would cut the current limit for silica exposure in half — a major victory for safety advocates. But there is skepticism and concern about the government following through after years of broken promises and delays.

James Bounds, a retired coal miner from Oak Hill, West Virginia, said nothing can be done to reverse the debilitating illness he was diagnosed with at 37 in 1984. But he doesn’t want others to suffer the same fate.

“It’s not going to help me — I’m through mining,” said Bounds, 75, who now uses supplemental oxygen to breathe. “But we don’t want these young kids breathing like we do.”

The rule, published in the Federal Register this month, cuts the permissible exposure limit for silica dust from 100 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for an 8-hour shift in coal, metal and nonmetal mines such as sand and gravel.

The proposal is in line with exposure levels imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on construction and other non-mining industries. And it’s the standard The Centers for Disease Control was recommending as far back as 1974.

Silicosis is an occupational pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust present in minerals like sandstone. The U.S. Department of Labor began studying silica and its impact on workers’ health in the 1930s, but the focus on stopping exposure in the workplace largely bypassed coal miners.

Instead, regulations centered on coal dust, a separate hazard created by crushing or pulverizing coal rock that also contributes to black lung.

In the decades since, silica dust has become a major problem as Appalachian miners cut through layers of sandstone to reach less accessible coal seams in mountaintop mines where coal closer to the surface has long been tapped. Silica dust is 20 times more toxic than coal dust and causes severe forms of black lung disease even after a few years of exposure.

An estimated one in five tenured miners in Central Appalachia has black lung disease; one in 20 has the most disabling form of black lung.

Miners are also being diagnosed at younger ages — some in their 30s and others with the advanced kind in their 40s. “That’s just nuts,” said Dr. Carl Werntz, a West Virginia physician who conducts black lung examinations and described cases as “skyrocketing.”

United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts said there’s no reason a 35-year-old miner should be diagnosed with a disease “that’s going to cost him his life.”

“Nobody should be dying because of a job they have,” Roberts said.

MSHA’s existing silica standards were developed in the 1970s, around the time of the U.S. Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

West Virginia University law professor Pat McGinley, who was part of a state team investigating the 2010 Upper Big Branch mining disaster that killed 29 miners, called the resurgence of black lung “unparalleled” when it comes to occupational health failures. In the Upper Big Branch mine, 71% of the 24 miners who received autopsies were found to have black lung.

“I can’t think of any occupation where there has been such devastation that’s been ignored” by corporations and the government, he said. “It’s stunning.”

The new rule is supported by Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, who pushed for the change and released a joint statement saying protecting miners from “dangerous levels of silica cannot wait.”

MSHA will be collecting comments on the proposal through Aug. 28, with three hearings scheduled in Arlington, Virginia, Beckley, West Virginia, and Denver.

One issue expected to come up: the use of respiratory protection equipment.

The National Mining Association, which represents mine operators, wants workers to be permitted to use respirators as a method of compliance with the rule.

“These are recognized industrial hygiene practices utilized by″ federal regulators in other industries, “but not in mining,″ spokesman Conor Bernstein said, adding that better ventilation controls, safety awareness and regulations on coal dust have all contributed to ”exponentially lower dust levels” inside U.S. mines in recent years.

The mine workers’ union and others, however, say respirators are ineffective while performing heavy labor in hot, confined spaces common in mines. The proposed rule allows for the use of respirators on a temporary basis while operators are implementing engineering controls. But advocates say inspectors aren’t present often enough to ensure they don’t become a permanent solution.

“The history of miner safety and health enforcement teaches us that exceptions become the rule,” said Sam Petsonk, a West Virginia attorney who represented miners who were diagnosed with black lung after operators knowingly violated regulations.

The proposed rule also includes a provision that allows companies to self-report silica levels. Federal inspectors conduct spot checks to ensure accuracy, but mine operators still have leeway to manipulate reporting data, said Willie Dodson, Central Appalachian field coordinator for Appalachian Voices, an advocacy group.

“Ideally, MSHA inspectors would take samples day after day after day in a given mine to determine compliance,″ he said.

A coal dust examiner who worked for a Kentucky mining company was sentenced to six months in prison last month for falsifying dust samples and lying to federal officials.

In rural Nickelsville, Virginia, near the Tennessee border, Vonda Robinson says miners and their families are owed more accountability from the federal government and mine operators. Her husband John was diagnosed with black lung about a decade ago at 47. Now, his doctors say he will need a lung transplant.

Vonda Robinson said her husband doesn’t know what to say when his 5-year-old granddaughter asks why he can’t run and play with her, why even walking down the end of the driveway leaves him physically spent.

“He’ll tell her ‘Honey, papaw can’t do that,’ ” she said.

During his 28 years mining, John Robinson would come home with his face covered with dust. But she tried not to worry. Everyone in the community mined coal.

“He was one of those that wanted to go in the mines to give his family the American dream — the nice house, vehicles, put our kids through college,” she said. “And this is what he got.”

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