Opinion ID: 1436
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Mr. Gunderson's employment and medical history

Text: Mr. Gunderson worked more than thirty years in underground coal mines, beginning in January 1965, when he accepted a position in Geneva, Utah. In 1973, he became a superintendent of that mine, which required him to work underground half of the time. In 1977, he moved to Colorado and worked as director of operations at a mine there until 1981. In the 1980s, Mr. Gunderson engaged in a variety of other activities. He ran a retail business with his ex-wife, drove a truck, and did some warehouse work. Mr. Gunderson returned to coal mining in 1989, when he accepted a position as a safety inspector with Blue Mountain Energy's underground mine in Rangely, Colorado. He was promoted to shift foreman and then to general foreman, and he continued to work at that same mine until January 2004. Throughout much of his career as a coal miner, Mr. Gunderson smoked cigarettes. He began in 1962 and quit in 1996, consuming about a pack each day during that period. Blue Mountain Energy's Rangely mine produced as much as two million tons of coal each year. The company used continuous mining techniques, including a longwall machine that would produce up to 2,500 tons of coal each hour. At the evidentiary hearing, Mr. Gunderson explained that these mining activities generated large amounts of coal dust. In his words, [c]oal mining is a dusty business. If you're not eating coal dust, you're blowing rock dust. Rec. Tr. of May 18, 2006 Hr'g, at 34. Mr. Gunderson reported that his work in the coal mine required extensive physical activity. He sometimes walked 10 to 15 miles a day, often while carrying up to ten pounds of equipment. He also had to lift 30 to 50 pound logs, as well as 75 to 150 pound timbers, which were used to reinforce the roof. Despite these physical demands, Mr. Gunderson reported little difficulty in doing his coal mining work until the latter part of his career. He testified at the evidentiary hearing that, by 2004, I couldn't keep up the pace. I was fatigued all the time.... I could walk on level ground. I could even walk up some grades. But by the end of the day, I was just so beat, I went home, I walked in the house and flopped in my chair and didn't get up till I went to bed. Id. at 44. He further stated that he now lacks the stamina he once had to do chores at home and that, in attempting these tasks, he becomes short of breath. I do a little bit and then I go sit down and rest.... I just don't have the stamina. Seems like I wear out easy. Id. at 46. In the administrative proceedings, the parties introduced substantial medical evidence, providing a detailed account of the onset of Mr. Gunderson's pulmonary disease. In particular, in April 1989, a report of Mr. Gunderson's regular physical examination described him as healthy except for mild, nonspecific interstitial disease, which a radiologist noted on an x-ray. [1] Subsequent x-ray readings contained similar findings. In October 1994, a radiologist read Mr. Gunderson's x-ray as showing mild to moderate, nonspecific interstitial disease. In June 1997, the same radiologist concluded that Mr. Gunderson's x-ray revealed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and mild nonspecific interstitial disease, as well as small areas of atelectasis, a condition in which all or part of a lung becomes airless and collapses. In July 1997, Mr. Gunderson had a lung scan, which showed a mild deficiency in blood circulation in the upper part of the lungs. That same month, he underwent a stress test on a treadmill, which showed no chest pain or arrhythmia and indicated normal blood pressure. However, in 1998, a radiologist at St. Mary's Hospital read Mr. Gunderson's x-ray and reported that [t]he lungs are hyperexpanded consistent with underlying emphysema. There is linear scarring at the right lung base. Rec. Employer's Ex. 8, at 56. In August 2000, Mr. Gunderson reported fatigue and shortness of breath to a family practitioner, who diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. That same month, Mr. Gunderson submitted to an x-ray as part of a monitoring program administered by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. In January 2001, he received a letter from Ronald Schell of the Mine Safety Health Administration informing him that the August 2000 x-ray [s]hows you have enough coal workers' pneumoconiosis (`black lung') to be eligible for the `option to work in a low dust area' of a mine. Rec., Director's Ex. 18. In April 2001, Mr. Gunderson again reported fatigue to a treating physician. In September 2001, a physician at the Western Colorado Lung Center evaluated Mr. Gunderson and diagnosed [s]imple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and probable mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease connected to his [h]istory of tobacco use. Rec. Employer's Ex. 6, at 4.