MSHA assistant secretary Joe Main, deputy assistant secretary Gregory Wagner, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health researchers and medical experts will all be on hand for the events, which will begin December 3.

 

“[They] will engage in discussions about how to prevent black lung, the debilitating and incurable disease that has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of coal miners,” the agency said.

 

The first meeting on December 3 will begin at 11am local time and will be held at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beckley, West Virginia. Those attending will be required to show identification before entering the campus.

 

The second gathering will be held at the Ramada Inn in Washington, Pennsylvania, December 7 at 10am. On December 10 at 10am, the public is invited to the Russell County Convention Center in Lebanon, Virginia.

 

The fourth and final meeting will take place December 11, beginning at 10am at the Capital Plaza hotel in Frankfort, Kentucky.

 

For more information on the events, visit the MSHA web site.