Special Thanks to the Families of:

Chester Fike Carl Bailey

Peyton Michael Mitchell Mackie Branham, Jr.

Ray Anthony Bartley Tyler Rosenberger

Dylan Fike

Acknowledgements 

Noemi Hall, PhD, Epidemiologist

Booklet/Insert Author

Kim Clough Thomas, Visual Information Specialist

DVD Case Design, Booklet/Insert Design

Jay Colinet, Principle Mining Engineer

Reviewer

James Couch

Voice Over Announcer 

Dan Magnafichi and Bradley Coop

Video Post-Production Services

“Black Lung,” Written by Hazel Dickens, Performed by 

Kathy Mattea, Courtesy of Captain Potato Records

This document is in the public domain and may be freely copied or reprinted

Disclaimer

Mention of any company or product does not constitute 

endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health (NIOSH). In addition, citations to websites 

external to NIOSH do not constitute NIOSH endorsement of 

the sponsoring organizations or their programs or products. 

Furthermore, NIOSH is not responsible for the content of 

these websites.

Faces of 

Black Lung II

Faces of 

Black Lung II

This video was produced in memory 

of Peyton Mitchell and it is dedicated 

to all miners struggling with this 

devastating disease.

Anita L. Wolfe, BA

Public Health Analyst, 

Author

Melissa Yancheski, BA

Program Operations Assistant, 

Videographer and Photographer

Cara N. Halldin, PhD, MPH

Commander, U.S. Public Health Service

Team Leader

Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

 Respiratory Health Division

Morgantown, WV

January 2020
Background

In 2018, there were an estimated 83,000 working coal miners in 

the United States. (MSHA 2018 Data) Each of these miners went 

to work every day to support their families, but also to help 

provide the energy that nearly half of Americans relied on for 

their daily needs. All workers deserve a safe and healthy working 

environment, including coal miners. The 1969 Federal Coal Mine 

Health and Safety Act was intended to protect these miners, in 

part by setting a permissible exposure limit for respirable coal 

mine dust as well as a respiratory health surveillance program.

One of the biggest risks to coal miner’s health over time is exposure 

to respirable coal mine dust. Black lung is caused by breathing in 

too much coal mine dust. Unfortunately, the rates of black lung 

have been increasing since the late 1990s. For example, as of the 

filming of this video, 1 in 5 coal miners with 25 or more years of 

tenure in central Appalachia have black lung. However, NIOSH 

sees cases of black lung in every state where coal is mined. 

Trends in coal workers’ pneumoconiosis among working 

underground coal miners participating in the Coal Workers’ 

Health Surveillance Program, in central Appalachia 

(Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia) and the United 

States excluding central Appalachia, 1974–2018.

Mobile Health Screening Program

Miners who step into the NIOSH mobile surveillance unit have 

the opportunity to: provide a detailed work history, complete a 

respiratory health questionnaire, have their blood pressure checked, 

have their lung function tested, and receive a chest x-ray. Results are 

confidentially mailed to the miner’s home and are not shared with 

anyone unless the miner provides a written release for their records.

Since 2006, the mobile surveillance unit has visited every state in 

the United States where coal is mined (with the exception of Alaska), 

providing more than 26,000 x-rays to participating coal miners. 

Our goal is to reach as many miners as possible and increase 

participation in this program. Participation in the CWHSP is provided 

at no cost to the miner. Why? We want to ELIMINATE BLACK LUNG.

Although black lung can be fatal, if it is caught at an earlier 

stage, a miner can use a right afforded to them by the 1969 

Act, referred to as the Part 90 transfer right, to transfer to a less 

dusty job. The hope is that if a miner with black lung can avoid 

further coal mine dust exposure the progression of their disease 

could be reduced. These programs, the black lung screening 

and Part 90, can only protect your health if you participate.
Ray Anthony Bartley

48 years old.

25 years as an underground 

coal miner: 18 years as a roof 

bolter and 7 years doing “a 

little bit of everything” 

“It’s really took a toll on me.”

“If I have to do anything, I have to 

be on oxygen.”

“Do I have any regrets about 

working in the mines? No. I didn’t 

think I would get sick.” 

“My advice if you’re starting 

out, a young man working in 

the mines... Always be safe, 

work safe.”

Mackie Branham Jr.

39 years old.

18 years working 

underground: 5 years as a 

roof bolter and 13 years on 

the continuous miner

“I just can’t do anything no more.”

Peyton Michael Mitchell

42 years old.

Worked under ground doing 

a little bit of everything, 

including running a roof bolter

“The reason why I became a 

coal miner is really because 

that’s all there is around here.” 

“I’m pretty well on oxygen 24/7 in the house.”

 “I worked with what I thought was double 

pneumonia, till I went to the hospital and they told 

me that I needed to see a lung specialist. And that’s 

when I found out I had black lung.”

 “To the miners out there that’s going underground 

and doing what I want to be doing, just remember, 

take care of yourself. Cause right now, I’ve got two 

nine-year olds that I can’t even play basketball 

with. ... You can’t do what you used to. As far as 

providing, you’re sitting at home, getting the checks 

that’s nowhere half to what you used to bring home. 

It’s rough.”
Anita Wolfe and Ray Anthony discussing his work history.

“If you’re going to mine, try to 

mine safely, make sure you’re 

doing what you’re supposed to 

do and the operators and the 

mines are doing what they’re 

supposed to do to provide you 

with a safe work environment.”

James Brandon Crum, DO 

Radiologist in Eastern Kentucky. 

Dr. Crum classifies chest x-rays as a NIOSH-certified B Reader. 

He worked as a 4th generation coal miner before becoming a 

radiologist, where he now treats many current and former coal 

miners with black lung.

Miners entering the NIOSH Mobile Surveillance Unit

FOR RESOURCES

COAL WORKERS’ HEALTH SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM 

(CWHSP)

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/cwhsp/
Black lung does not have to cut a miner’s life short. 

It can be stopped. But this will only happen when 

every person who works in the coal mining industry 

subscribes to the goal of the Coal Mine Health and 

Safety Act:

“The first priority and concern of all in the coal 

mining industry must be the health and safety 

of its most precious resource – the miner.”

– Federal Coal Mine Health 

 and Safety Act of 1969, 

amended 1977.

Mackie Branham Jr. and his family

Photo Courtesy of: Ohio Valley ReSource – Benny Becker

Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program Team

NIOSH Mobile Surveillance Unit
Get More Information

Find NIOSH products and get answers to workplace safety and health questions:

1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) | TTY: 1-888-232-6348

CDC/NIOSH INFO: cdc.gov/info | cdc.gov/niosh

Monthly NIOSH eNews: cdc.gov/niosh/eNews

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2020-109 (Revised 01/2020)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2020109revised012020

January 2020

Total running time 20:21 minutes