MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The NIOSH Mobile Black Lung Screening program, stalled earlier this year by DOGE cuts, is back on the road and will be in northern West Virginia and Maryland later this month.
Program spokesperson Tia McClelland said those with the program are thankful for the support received during a time when the testing unit’s future appeared uncertain.
“We are very lucky and happy to be back,” McClelland said Thursday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.”
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger granted a preliminary injunction in May to reverse federally ordered job cuts endangering legally required black lung screening.
McClelland said the unit was in Pennsylvania this week and will be at Mylan Park in Morgantown July 29 -31, Mannington on Aug. 5 and will travel to Grantsville, Maryland, on Aug. 27.
“We’re also planning a trip in September, and that will be in West Virginia and Ohio,” McClelland said.
Hundreds of workers at NIOSH, including the facility in Morgantown, were informed earlier this year that they would lose their jobs in line with the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiatives. NIOSH conducts research and makes recommendations about preventing work-related injuries and illnesses.
The Respiratory Health Division focuses on preventing work-related respiratory diseases and improving worker health. The Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program studies respiratory disease in miners and provides health screenings and information, particularly about black lung.
United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts said the mobile unit screenings are an essential lifeline.
“For too many miners, the nearest facility capable of diagnosing black lung is hours away, making early detection nearly impossible. With cases of black lung disease, especially the most severe forms, continuing to rise in Appalachia, it’s more important than ever that we are proactive in protecting miners’ health,” Roberts said in a statement obtained by MetroNews. “These mobile screenings are a critical step, but prevention must be our priority. That’s why it is so troubling that the Silica Standard, established and finalized to help prevent black lung in the first place, has yet to be implemented. We strongly urge MSHA and the administration to recognize the urgency of this issue and enforce the silica rule without delay. Our miners deserve not just treatment, but protection.”
McClelland said the mobile unit is highly visible and will be easy to find at each location.
“It’s a large tractor-trailer that has large pictures that say NIOSH on it with coal miners all over it,” McClelland said.
The free report on their current lung health will take about 30 minutes, and minors are asked to bring a completed minor identification form. If miners don’t have the identification form, staff onsite can help them complete it.
“Another thing to bring is their work history because often if you’ve been a coal miner for a long time, you might not remember all of your jobs and the dates, so that would speed up the process,” McClelland said. “And bring a list of medications you’re on.”
All of the contract workers that were laid off that perform the support functions for the process are back in place and the process will take 8 to 12 weeks.
“Everything is confidential,” McClelland said. “We send your chest X-ray to our contracted “B” readers who are qualified to read and classify images for black lung disease, so they’ll read and classify your image, and we will send you a letter.”
McClelland said the Part 90 that allows those miners showing signs of the disease to transfer into other parts of the mine at no change in pay.
“If you are showing signs of disease, our program permits you to apply for Part 90, which allows you to work in a less dusty part of the mine for the same pay,” McClelland said.