Opinion ID: 1436
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Background and Employment History.The Claimant

Text: At the hearing, the Claimant testified that he retired on January 7, 2004. (TR 22) He stated that by the time he retired he was less capable of performing his job. (TR 44) He was unable to keep up because of fatigue. (TR 44) At the time of his retirement, the Claimant was employed as an acting general foreman. (TR 41-43) Prior to working as an acting general foreman, he was a shift foreman for approximately thirteen years. (TR 30, 41) Before becoming a shift foreman, he held a variety of other mining jobs. (TR 22-30) As a shift foreman, the Claimant was required to supervise numerous workers and complete some paperwork. (TR 30, 51) However, the job also required rigorous physical activity. (TR 34-41) The Claimant often helped stack timbers or concrete blocks to reinforce the mine's roof, using materials that weighed between 30 and 150 pounds. (TR 34-35) He was also required to carry bags of rock dust weighing fifty pounds and shovel coal that fell off of the belt lines. (TR 37-38) Further, on an average day he walked between ten and fifteen miles. (TR 40) The Claimant admitted that after becoming the acting general foreman, his workload probably lessened. (TR 52) He performed the same physically demanding tasks as the acting general foreman that he did as a shift foreman. (TR 53) He just did not always have to perform the tasks as often. (TR 53) The dust level in this mine, a mine which produced as much as two million tons of coal in one year, and as much as 2,500 tons of coal in one hour, was significant. (TR 31-34) The Claimant stated that, when the miners were cutting the entries or when the machines were digging into the coal, a substantial amount of dust was being generated. (TR 32) Further, in some areas, where used air was brought out of the mine, dust from the active production areas was also being expelled. (TR 33-34) At these areas, where the Claimant often worked, the dust level was very high. (TR 34) The Claimant stated that [c]oal mining is dusty business. If you're not eating coal dust, you're blowing rock dust. (TR 34) The Claimant acknowledged that he smoked cigarettes from 1962 to 1996 at a rate of about one pack per day. (TR 47) He occasionally smoked a pipe, although he did not inhale. (TR 48-49, 60) The Claimant now experiences significant shortness of breath. (TR 46). He has difficulty carrying things or doing other manual labor, such as digging holes in his yard. (TR 46) When performing such tasks, he has to sit down and rest. (TR 46) He stated, I just don't have the stamina. Seems like I wear out easy. (TR 46)