Coal Miners Dying Of Silicosis And Black Lung Want To Know Why Daddy Laid Off 2/3 Of Staff At Agency That Protects Them

[hatrack]

For John Robinson, a retired coal miner who spent his career in the Virginia mines helping to power America into the 21st century, not a moment passes that he isn't feeling the full effects of his black lung diagnosis. With the support of a burdensome oxygen machine, Robinson joined a handful of other retired Central Appalachian miners to sit down with ABC News' Jay O'Brien in the heart of coal country. "You are suffocating. You are suffocating. And that's what's going to kill you," Robinson told O'Brien. "I got a wife and two kids and two grandbabies, you know, and I want to live."

Black lung, the debilitating respiratory illness common in coal miners, has made a staggering resurgence in the past 25 years, particularly among the younger generation of miners as they cut through more rock to access deeper, hard-to-reach coal seams, exposing them to harmful dust particles called silica -- which experts say is about 20 times more toxic to the lungs than pure coal dust.

And even as President Donald Trump vows to reinvigorate America's coal industry, critics say his administration has stripped away key protections for the miners. In his first 100 days in office, Trump's administration has decimated the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, the federal institute that protects miners from black lung, and paused enforcement of a new safety rule that would lower the level of silica dust in the mines.

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In deep red coal country, several of the miners who met with ABC News have faith that Trump will reinstate protections for coal miners. "If they'll give Trump time and let him work out his -- he's got a plan," Robinson told O'Brien. "I mean, he knows what he's doing. He's a smart man." "What if he doesn't?" O'Brien asked. "I feel sorry for the miners," Robinson replied.

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https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-coal-miners-speak-trump-strips-health-protections/story?id=121257399

[Orrex]

1. How many of them would vote for him again if they could?

I'm guessing a large number of them.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

2. I admire the bravery of miners willing to do this dangerous job.

But those miners who are die-hard Trump supporters like Robinson get no sympathy from me. I despise their stubbornness and ignorance. Trump is screwing them over and yet they still support him.

[Vogon_Glory]

3. Bless their hearts. Their avatar is doing what he does best

and his hardscrabble followers still don’t get it.

I went to a Bluegrass/folk music festival last weekend and at least some of those songs were about lying, betrayal and heartbreak.