BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. — Maintenance of existing black lung benefits is one goal of a new organization forming in Boone County.
The initial recruitment and information meeting of the Boone County Black Lung Association was planned for Thursday night in Danville.
“In the long run, it’s going to affect all the miners and their widows,” said Danny Hager from Boone, a former coal miner of 31 years who was organizing the meeting.
A study published earlier this year in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society which analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Labor found steady rises in cases of progressive massive fibrosis, a form of black lung disease, despite declines in total miner numbers since the 1990s.
Most affected were miners of central Appalachia which includes West Virginia and Kentucky. The average age for diagnosis was 61, but ages ranged from 27 to 93.
Under the Black Lung Benefits Act, monthly payments and medical benefits are paid to coal miners with pneumoconiosis or black lung disease which is caused by breathing in coal dust because of work in mines.
However, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has found the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is at risk of insolvency due to growing debt and cuts to coal company contributions that are scheduled to take effect at the end of 2018.
“People should think about the future,” said Hagar.
He does not have black lung disease, but his grandfather did.
“My grandfather got it (black lung benefits) and then my grandmother got it. I have an old lady living beside of me that, if it wasn’t for that, her income would be affected seriously and a lot of other widows,” he said.
“You take a widow, if she doesn’t have much income, this right here is a substantial boost.”
Thursday’s initial Black Lung Association meeting in Boone County for those interested in black lung programs, policies and benefits or people affected by the disease was scheduled for 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Danville Community Center.
There was no requirement for Boone County residency.
Similar organizations were already up and running in other parts of West Virginia including Wyoming County and Fayette County.