Research led by West Virginia University’s Dr Edward Lee Petsonk found the rise in the disease, as well as emphysema and cancer, could be attributed to more dust-involved modern practices such as longwall mining and work in thin seams.

“The sum of the evidence really shows this is a worsening problem, instead of a problem that’s getting better,” co-author Robert Cohen said.

“The cause of the recent resurgence and severe forms of coal mine dust lung disease is likely multi-factorial. Flaws have been recognized in existing regulations, dust-control practices, and enforcement.

“When you put it all together, it underscores the need to do something – better regulations, more stringent regulations, and better enforcement.”

The report, published last month in the highly regarded American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, called pneumoconiosis – the formal name for black lung disease – a concern of the 21st century.

The researchers’ work looked at evidence from several studies of dust-induced lung disease, and concluded that the individuals in those projects developed and progressed more quickly in coal miners than previously thought, especially among southern West Virginia miners and those in other areas of the Appalachian region.

The report comes as federal officials at the US Mine Safety and Health Administration are scheduled to be working on regulations to combat dust issues. Rules are set to be finalized by June, but reportedly are still pending regulatory review by the White House Office of Management and Budget – a process that could take months.

The Obama administration proposed an exposure reduction law in 2011, but that has not yet been finalized.

“In recent years, the country has been riveted by stories of tragic disasters in our nation's coal mines, including the explosions and fires at the Sago and Upper Big Branch mines in West Virginia,” the report said.

“Less attention has been paid to the increase in prevalence and severity of the chronic lung disease which results from coal mine dust exposure.”

MSHA head Joseph Main told an industry crowd in West Virginia earlier this year that the federal dust regulation was indeed on its 2013 plan, a point an agency spokeswoman confirmed this week.

“The respiratory dust rule is on MSHA's regulatory agenda for 2013,” Amy Louviere said.

Once contracted, black lung is both permanent and potentially fatal.

According to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health statistics, about 10,000 miners died of black lung disease between 1996 and 2005.

West Virginia recorded the second-most black lung deaths of any state, with more than 1800 during that period; that is versus 87 miners killed in mining accidents in that same timeframe.

NIOSH has a mobile unit that offers testing free-of-charge across the country at different times of the year.