Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Black lung in Queensland existed when disease was thought to be eradicated: expert

By Nick Wiggins

Updated yesterday at 10:49pm

An internationally renowned expert on black lung has told an inquiry the disease was likely continuing
to cause the deaths of Queensland coal miners during the decades it was thought to have been eradicated.

Key points:

* Expert says authorities looking for black lung weren't vigilant
* Death rate from disease likely to be higher than first thought
* Workers' X-rays discovered in Ipswich shipping container

Nineteen cases of black lung have been confirmed in Queensland

[...]

At the same time in the US, black lung was continuing to show up as a cause of death on former coal workers' death certificates.

Dr Cohen said people weren't vigilant about looking for it.

"If you don't take X-rays well or don't look at the X-rays, you won't find disease in your population and you don't have to do anything about it," he said.

Deputy committee chair and LNP MP Lawrence Springborg asked whether it was true as many as 70,000 former coal workers in the US had black lung listed as contributing to their death on their death certificate.

"Those numbers were significant underestimates" Dr Cohen replied.

He said that it was likely black lung contributed to the deaths of many Queensland miners.

'We went to work and now we're gonna die'

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-15/queensland-authorities-failed-to-spot-black-lung/8357772

Australia even worse than you guys .. "Coal Country Republicans Set to Cut Mine Safety Inspections" .. irresponsible assholes ..