Therapeutics Daily said Thursday that the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention will outline the new cases in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study was conducted between March and May.
The data for the federal agency’s investigation was compiled from 328 of approximately 1055 underground miners between 21 and 63 years old. All were working in the southwestern Virginia counties of Wise and Lee.
Thirty members of the group, or 9%, showed signs of CWP; 11 of the 30 were classified as advanced, the report said. The test group averaged 23 years of experience, while the 11 advanced cases averaged 29 years.
Of the 11 advanced cases, the mean age of the individuals was 51.
The incidence rate is twice the expected rate, the CDC said in a statement on its website, given modern coal dust exposure permissibility levels. “These findings points out the importance of continuous and vigorous attention to effective dust control in coal mining,” it said.
Black lung cases dropped following dust limit regulations were established in the late 1960s. However, according to Therapeutics Daily’ research, aggressive cases increased – especially in western Virginia and eastern Kentucky – between 1996 and 2002.
