Feds chop enforcement staff and halt rules meant to curb black lung in coal miners

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1. In early April, President Donald Trump gathered dozens of hard-hat-clad coal miners around him in the White House East Room. He joked about arm-wrestling them and announced he was signing executive orders to boost coal production, “bringing back an industry that was abandoned,” and to “put the miners back to work.”

   Trump said he calls it “beautiful, clean” coal. “I tell my people never use the word ‘coal’ unless you put ‘beautiful, clean’ before it.”

   That same day, the Trump administration [paused implementation](https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/26/health/coal-miners-niosh-hhs-kff?utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit) of a rule that would help protect coal miners from an aggressive form of black lung disease. Enforcement of the new protections is officially halted until at least mid-August, [according to a federal announcement](https://www.msha.gov/notice-stakeholders) that came a few days after a federal court agreed to put enforcement on hold to hear an industry challenge. But even if the rule takes full force after the delay, the federal agency tasked with enforcing it in Appalachia and elsewhere may not be up to the task after sweeping layoffs and office closures.

   Deaths from black lung — a chronic condition caused by inhaling coal dust — had been in decline since the introduction of federal regulations over a half-century ago. But in recent decades, cases have risen precipitously. By 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the lungs of about 1 in 5 coal miners in central Appalachia showed evidence of black lung. It is being diagnosed in younger miners. And the deadliest form, progressive massive fibrosis, has increased tenfold among long-term miners.

   Silica is the primary culprit. Exposure to it has increased since mining operations began cutting through more sandstone to reach deeper coal deposits. The stone breaks into sharp particles that, when airborne, can become trapped in lung tissue and cause a debilitating, sometimes fatal condition.

   The new rule was set to take effect in April, cutting the allowable level of silica dust in the air inside mines by half — to the limit already in place for other industries — and set stricter guidelines for enforcement.

2. The children yearn for the mines! Is this part of making America great?

3. Of course they did. This administration is cartoonishly evil and absolutely don’t care that we all know it. Which is the scariest part.

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