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cover of episode The Sunday Story: Coal's deadly dust

The Sunday Story: Coal's deadly dust

2023/11/19
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Up First

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C
Celeste Monfort
D
Danny Smith
H
Howard Berkes
M
Mark McCowan
R
Randy Chrome
R
Ron Caroll
S
Scott Laney
主持人
专注于电动车和能源领域的播客主持人和内容创作者。
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Howard Berkes: 本期节目关注的是持续十年的对西弗吉尼亚州煤矿工人黑肺病的调查。调查始于2011年一份关于Upper Big Branch矿难的报告,报告显示遇难矿工中黑肺病发病率极高。此后,Howard Berkes及其团队采访了数十名患有黑肺病的矿工,揭露了政府在保护矿工方面的失败。调查发现,黑肺病在煤矿地区仍然普遍存在,并且患者年轻化趋势明显,病情发展迅速。矿工们描述了疾病给他们日常生活带来的严重影响,即使是简单的活动也难以完成。 调查还发现,矿工们长时间工作,开采更薄的煤层,接触到含有石英的岩石粉尘,这些因素都加剧了黑肺病的发生。石英粉尘比煤尘毒性高20倍,长期吸入会导致肺部纤维化,最终导致死亡。 调查还发现,政府机构低估了黑肺病的发病率,对石英粉尘缺乏直接监管,对以往关于加强石英粉尘限值的建议置之不理。尽管政府机构最终提出了新的石英粉尘限值,但其监管和执法力度不足,并且低估了新规定的潜在效益。 通过对矿工的采访,Howard Berkes展现了黑肺病对矿工及其家庭的巨大影响,呼吁政府加强监管,保护矿工的健康安全。 Mark McCowan, Mackey Brandon, Danny Smith: 三位矿工的陈述从不同角度展现了黑肺病对个人生活和家庭的冲击。他们描述了疾病带来的呼吸困难、行动不便等症状,以及由此产生的生活质量下降和经济负担。他们讲述了疾病如何影响他们与家人和朋友的互动,以及他们对未来的担忧。尽管如此,他们中的一些人仍然表达了对采矿工作的感激之情,因为采矿工作为他们和他们的家庭提供了生计和相对优越的生活条件。

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Chapters
The podcast discusses the alarming resurgence of black lung disease among coal miners, particularly affecting younger individuals. It highlights the failure of government agencies to prevent this preventable disease and explores the role of silica dust in its severity.
  • Resurgence of black lung disease among younger miners
  • Government failure to protect miners
  • Role of silica dust in worsening the disease

Shownotes Transcript

In 2011, NPR correspondent Howard Berkes noticed an anomaly in the sidebar of a government report on the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia. It suggested that there was an extraordinarily high rate of black lung disease among the coal miners who'd been killed in the explosion. And it set him on a decade-long investigation to understand the cause of a hidden epidemic, the toll it took on miners and their families, and why government agencies had failed to prevent it.*You can find more of Howard's landmark reporting on black lung disease on the episode page).*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)