by Caity Coyne, West Virginia Watch
April 9, 2025
As President Donald Trump signed several executive orders this week meant to bolster America’s struggling coal industry, miners in Central Appalachia who are responsible for digging up that coal are being left with fewer resources to protect them thanks to federal policies and cuts.
On Tuesday, the federal Mine Health and Safety Administration announced that the implementation of an industry rule to limit miners’ exposure to dangerous silica dust — a leading cause of black lung disease — was being delayed until August. The rule, finalized last year, was set to go into effect for coal mines on April 14 and would have cut exposure limits for silica dust in half.
MSHA’s announcement of the rule’s delayed implementation came days after a federal judge, in response to a request from industry groups led by the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Administration, issued a temporary stay against it.
It also comes as the federal government — through the new Department of Government Efficiency — is making cuts to agencies across the region that play instrumental roles in protecting coal miners from disease and accidents.
Under the Trump Administration, DOGE has already targeted about three dozen MSHA offices nationwide for closure. Those offices employ mine inspectors whose jobs are to ensure that coal mine operators are meeting industry standards known to lower the risks of accidents and injuries for coal miners.
According to an analysis from the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, the offices slated for closure performed more than 16,600 safety and health inspections — with more than 230 of those done in West Virginia — between February 2024 and 2025.
Following the cuts, it’s unclear how many of those mine inspections will continue to occur.
And last week, DOGE’s cuts in the name of federal cost savings hit the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, an agency that plays a crucial role in detecting black lung among the nation’s coal miners. There, more than 200 jobs were eliminated at the institute’s Morgantown location.
In MSHA’s public notice posted earlier this week, the agency said that the “unforeseen NIOSH restructuring” was a direct driver of the agency’s decision to delay implementation of the rule.
Until those cuts, Noemi Hall worked as an epidemiologist in NIOSH’s Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program. In her work, Hall and her colleagues were responsible for screening coal miners for black lung disease, often through a mobile clinic that traveled between coal mines and coal communities for easy access.
Those free screenings, Hall said, were crucial for the early detection of black lung, a critical step that can help prevent the disease from developing into its most severe and debilitating form.
“What really happened is the Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program, because of the [reduction in force] at NIOSH, well it’s been completely eliminated,” Hall said. “It can no longer serve the functions it needs to serve. Coal miners are more vulnerable now, that’s the truth of it.”
Workers at the CWHSP didn’t just perform the screenings — the agency was also tasked with evaluating coal miners’ results and, when necessary, providing documentation that allowed coal miners to exercise their rights to be transferred to a different, less dusty part of a coal mine if they showed signs of black lung.
Since the NIOSH cuts, however, coal miners haven’t been able to access their X-rays or results from spirometry tests. And since the CWHSP no longer exists, there’s no one to evaluate those results and alert coal miners of their right to transfer.
“Coal miners have lost an essential right that they fought for,” Hall said. “To exercise that right, they need to have the X-ray reviewed by NIOSH and that function is no longer able to occur.”
‘We don’t want to turn back the clock on black lung’
Trump’s four executive orders this week honed in on four policies that he says will boost production of “beautiful, clean coal:” ending a moratorium on leasing federal lands for coal mining activities, removing environmental regulations that Trump said slowed approvals for new mining projects, prioritizing grid security and reliability and blocking states from enforcing their own, stricter regulations on coal mining.
But while the Trump administration is demanding more coal be mined in America with fewer protections for the workers, rates of black lung disease are already on the rise, according to a body of research.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 20% of coal miners in Central Appalachia are suffering from black lung — the highest rate detected in more than 25 years. One in 20 of the region’s coal miners are living with the most severe form of the condition.
And the resurgence of black lung is hitting coal miners at younger ages than ever before. This is due to miners, because of a lack of easily accessible coal, being forced to dig through more silica-rich sandstone than their predecessors in order to reach what little coal remains.
The proposed silica dust rule would be the first of its kind to limit coal miners’ exposure to the dangerous dust. Other industries, through the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, have had the same protections in place for years based on decades of research showing the clear harm of inhaling silica dust.
The rule was celebrated by advocates and workers within the coal industry. Former federal officials said that, once implemented, the rule could potentially save thousands of lives by cutting exposure limits in half for workers on an eight hour shift.
But now, with the rule in question and a dearth of workers who are certified to screen and diagnose black lung in Central Appalachia, advocates worry that black lung is going to continue to harm and kill the region’s miners. There is no cure for black lung, only disease management.
“Silica dust is killing miners and the only way to help curb the devastation of black lung disease is to start enforcing this rule,” said Rebecca Shelton, Director of Policy at Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center. “Instead, the Trump administration just gutted NIOSH, an institution that provided services that were essential to the enforcement of this rule. Rather than recognizing its mistake and working to reestablish NIOSH, the administration is doubling down on eliminating protections for miners and delaying this rule.”
Hall said she was incredibly proud of the work she was able to do through NIOSH. But now, she said, it’s hard for her to think about what comes next for the coal miners she’s worked with and those who will eventually enter the industry.
“What we do at NIOSH — all the research, the screenings, everything we do — it’s done for the benefit of the coal miners,” Hall said. “Our goal is to help protect coal miners, to make sure they can work safely and be protected. That’s good for the nation and without [protections] I don’t know where we go; we don’t want to turn back the clock on black lung.”
‘I want to get back to work’
After Trump announced his coal industry executive orders on Tuesday, West Virginia’s congressional delegation was quick to celebrate what they saw as wins for the state’s struggling coal economy.
“These executive orders are welcome news for our miners and the entire industry, and I am glad we have a president that recognizes the need to support them,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va. — whose family operates multiple coal mines that have been subject to dozens of fines due to health and safety violations — said he was “proud” to stand with Trump in ensuring that “West Virginia can continue to lead the way in energy production for generations to come.”
And Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., said the orders will help create jobs and improve the state’s economy.
“No one works harder than a West Virginia coal miner, and I thank President Trump for his commitment to the coal industry and West Virginia,” Miller said.
Meanwhile, no statements have come from the delegation regarding the delay of the silica rule or the potential vulnerability of West Virginia’s coal miners as they are being asked to mine more coal.
The strongest statement has come from Capito, who told reporters last week that she had “strong disagreements” with DOGE’s cuts in the state, specifically at NIOSH. She said she planned to talk to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the cuts, but no further announcements on the subject have been made.
Last year, when House Republicans attempted to halt the implementation of the silica rule by blocking funding for it, Capito — who sits on the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations — declined to comment on the proposed legislation or the rule.
And none of the state’s congressional delegation has signed on to support the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act, which would increase inspections at mines, enhance enforcement measures and penalties, modernize safety standards and levy more rights for coal miners.
For Hall, it’s difficult to watch what the government is doing — or, moreso, not doing — for the region’s coal miners. But overall, she said, she knows good people are in the government. She considers herself and all of her colleagues who worked at the CWHSP as part of that government.
Now, she said, she wants to ensure people know what the real impact of these policy decisions will be.
“I know the government is full of people who care very deeply about the American people. That’s what I felt I was doing, and I would love to have the opportunity to continue to do that — to help my neighbors, help coal miners,” Hall said. “I don’t want what’s happening to be accepted. I don’t want it to be what I did at NIOSH or what I used to do there. We need to continue doing this work, and I want to get back to work.”
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West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
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