Source: MSN
Date: April 2, 2025
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Following layoffs at Morgantown’s NIOSH location this week, organizations are speaking out to let the public know of the effects it will have in different industries, including coal mining.
NIOSH’s Morgantown location is responsible specifically for the respiratory disease division that monitors coal dust and silica research, manages the lung x-ray program, and oversees the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). With the loss of jobs in this department, coal miners across the state worry about what their futures may look like.
It’s statistically proven that Appalachian coal miners are more likely than coal miners in general to be diagnosed with black lung due to the harder and more narrow rock, which leads to more silica dust exposure.
With NIOSH’s research and monitoring programs, both active and retired coal miners could receive the screening and treatment needed to reduce the number of deaths caused by this preventable disease.
“We pushed so hard to have a silica standard, and then, of course, the second that the silica standard gets approved and gets passed and funded, they decide to shut down the offices that are supposed to be helping to enforce it,” United Mine Workers of America’s (UMWA) communication director, Erin Bates said in an interview with 12 News.
Without these programs, people in the mining industry and researchers are scrambling to find what else can be done to serve coal miners in our region.
“What’s done is done. NIOSH has closed its offices and let go of its employees, that is going to hurt the job market in West Virginia to not have this facility. If the plan is to open up another facility, you know, cut costs and then rebuild, we would be in support of that, but to eliminate these jobs and not have anything in place is going to put a lapse in care for these miners,” Bates said.
The future of MSHA is also up in the air right now, as Bates said 34 locations may not renew their leases, which would leave coal mines abandoned by the agency that enforces mandatory safety regulations and inspections of mine disasters.
“I would be hard pressed to find someone in West Virginia that doesn’t have some connection to coal. This is affecting their neighbors, this is affecting their family, this is affecting their friends, this is affecting their community. Without NIOSH, they are not able to monitor and maintain a living that these miners deserve. Without NIOSH, they are not able to do the research and the monitoring that is necessary in order to fight black lung cases in West Virginia,” said Bates.
With so many questions still left unanswered for NIOSH employees, coal miners, and countless other organizations affected by the agency’s closing, you can be sure that we will keep you updated on these developing stories.
Written By: Jalyn Lamp
