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Bills Aim to Help Miners with Black Lung and Surviving Family Access Benefits

A painting of boots, a hat and other gear used by coal miners.

Miners with black lung disease face a difficult process to obtain modest benefits, as do their widows. Two bills in Congress aim to help miners with the disease and their bereaved families, including by tying benefit levels to inflation.

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Fighting for Black Lung Benefits for Miners and Families

A woman poses next to her husband with her arm around his shoulders.

Kathryn South’s husband, Mike South, was diagnosed with black lung disease at age 35. As they grappled with his disease, the couple also navigated the arduous legal process to obtain federal black lung benefits, a fight that Kathryn continued even after Mike’s passing.

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The Root that Shaped a Region

smiling man crouches near ginseng plants in the forest

Luke Manget, author of the book “Ginseng Diggers: A History of Root and Herb Gathering in Appalachia,” discusses the complex and impactful history of ginseng and root digging.

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Contaminants Found in East Tennessee Springs

Two men stand on a gravel road outdoors next to a truck and another man crouched next to white buckets.

Springs are often assumed to be a safe, clean source of drinking water. But they can harbor a number of health hazards, as new research published in the journal Geosciences shows.

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