Federal regulators are officially delaying implementation of Biden-era black lung protections that U.S. coal miners have lobbied federal agencies to enforce — and was supposed to take effect this week — as debilitating and deadly diseases climb.

Workers who operate underground mining machinery accounted for more than two-thirds of deaths associated with coal workers’ pneumoconiosis during a recent four-year period, according to the results of a NIOSH study.

West Virginia coal miners and their families gathered at the West Virginia Capitol on Tuesday to advocate for Black Lung Awareness.

A new report from the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and Appalachian Voices shows federal black lung disability benefits are not keeping up with inflation.

State-level data has long been available on the Department of Labor’s website. But for the first time ever, Appalachian Voices is able to provide the map showing zip code-level data, thanks to a public records request sent to the DOL.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced the “Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act” to help make medical benefits more accessible to miners.

Lisa Emery loves to talk about her “boys.” With each word, the respiratory therapist’s face softens and shines with pride. But keep her talking, and it doesn’t take long for that passion to switch to hurt.

Miners and their advocates are begging the administration to enforce a Biden-era rule meant to protect them.

During the Biden administration, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration created a safety rule long-sought by black lung associations. Days before it could be enforced, a lawsuit froze enforcement and little has changed since.

It used to take a single day for Andy Martin to mow his lawn. But after developing severe black lung disease, cutting his grass now takes three.

Outside of the Department of Labor on Tuesday morning, America’s coal miners had a message for President Donald Trump: Start enforcing black lung protections.

Commentary - As an advocate for miners with black lung disease and their families, I was so disappointed to see a tax break for metallurgical coal in the Big Beautiful Bill Act in July. Why? Because that tax break will encourage the mining of coal that isn’t subject to the excise tax that supplements the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

Miners express frustration with Congress on black lung as courts and regulators delay implementation of dust regulations.

The rule — which would cut allowable exposure to silica dust in half — was supposed to go into effect in April, then August and now, depending on the courts, is likely delayed until October

Another miner has been added as a plaintiff in a class action suit pending against the federal Department of Health and Human Services over its prior shutdown of an agency crucial to helping coal miners protect themselves against dangerous black lung disease.

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.”

The budget for NIOSH was about $363 million in 2023, the same year that job injuries and illnesses cost Americans around $176 billion, according to the National Safety Council. Without NIOSH, officials say that number could be higher.

Reuters interviews with more than a dozen people involved in medical programs serving the coal industry, and a review of internal documents from NIOSH, show that at least three such federal programs have stopped their work in recent weeks.

A federal program that screens coal miners for black lung disease has been shuttered because of layoffs and budget cuts.

Sam Petsonk grew up around southern West Virginia's mining communities, visiting patients with his father, one of the country's first doctors to specialize in Black Lung Disease.