16-04-2025
Appalachian group addresses ‘coordinated attack on coal miner safety'
Video is previous coverage from the NIOSH layoffs in Morgantown on April 1
(WBOY) — Former National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employees are continuing to speak out against federal cuts that will negatively impact coal miner safety in West Virginia and beyond.
Last week, the enforcement of the 'Silica Rule' was paused until August, which will delay the enforcement of an act meant to protect coal miners from black lung, and earlier this month, hundreds of workers were laid off at NIOSH and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) that will result in decreased safety research and health resources for miners.
Two former Morgantown NIOSH employees spoke at Appalachian Voices' most recent 'Holler from the Hollers' call, a weekly informational Zoom meeting meant to educate Appalachians about policies and government actions that could negatively impact their region.
The April 10 call focused on federal cuts and policy changes negatively impacting Appalachian coal miners specifically.
'While everyone agrees that the federal government could use some efficiency improvements, they're getting a lot of things wrong and they seem to not be making—or even acknowledging those mistakes and fixing them,' Quinton King, government affairs specialist for Appalachian Voices, said on the call.
Laid-off NIOSH workers continue protests for jobs and safety of U.S. workers
Two former workers for NIOSH were speakers at the 'Holler,' including Anita Wolfe, a former public health analyst for NIOSH Morgantown who was coordinator of the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) or coal miners x-ray program, which was a leader in making black lung screening accessible to miners.
According to Wolfe, more than 300,000 coal miners have been screened using chest x-rays or breathing tests by the CWHPS since it began in 1969, and it has helped thousands get diagnoses and treatment for black lung, which impacts one in five career coal miners.
With the cuts, the positions that make the screening and diagnosis process possible no longer exist.
Wolfe said that she believes the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) 'has taken an ax rather than a scalpel to many important programs that affect our health, air, water, worker safety and more.' Wolfe continued by saying that although coal production might increase under executive orders recently signed by President Donald Trump, it could be at the expense of the miners' safety without programs like NIOSH.
Although the NOISH cuts disproportionately affect coal miners, NIOSH is also the only government research group dedicated to worker safety.
The former workers and Appalachian Voice urged West Virginians and anyone else impacted by health cuts to contact their legislators.
You can listen to the full 'Holler from the Hollers' on YouTube here.
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