Black lung disease is on the rise in Appalachia, and the Trump-Vance administration’s actions are making it worse.

Black lung disease is a fatal but preventable disease caused by the dust resulting from digging into rock and coal. A recent federal study shows that black lung has now reached its highest rates in nearly 50 years, with nearly one in three long-tenured underground miners in Central Appalachia having symptoms of black lung.

The increase in rates of black lung disease are due to more silica in the mining dust. Silica is more toxic than coal dust, and today’s miners experience more exposure because they have to cut deeper into rock in order to access remaining coal seams.

In April 2024, after decades of federal research and advocacy from coal miners, their doctors and their loved ones, the federal government finalized a rule to protect coal and other miners from silica dust. It was supposed to go into effect in April 2025.

The mining industry immediately sued to challenge the new silica exposure rule. The Biden-Harris administration began defending the protections for miners in court, but when the Trump-Vance administration took office in 2025, it voluntarily paused enforcement of the rule and indicated they would stop defending it in court. In November 2025, the administration announced that it will continue to delay implementation of this crucial workplace protection while it “reconsiders” the rule itself.

Nearly a year later, the administration still has not proposed a new rule – a shameful betrayal of American workers who are trying to make a living and support their families without suffering and dying as a result.

In recent years, grassroots action has repeatedly won results for miners with or at risk of black lung. Together, we have secured funding for medical care and disability benefits, and we defended federal black lung screening and prevention programs against sweeping budget cuts. It is time to take action again.