Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
The Resurgence of Black Lung: Economic Challenges and Escalating Risk
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
In recent years, miners have experienced a deadlier resurgence of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis (CWP), commonly known as black lung disease in central Appalachia. This research utilizes a qualitative approach and relies on several forms of data including: semi-structured interviews, direct observation, newspaper coverage, and government data and reports. Major findings suggest that the “coal crisis” (i.e. depleted seams, mechanization, competition from natural gas, and deunionization) have intensified the resurgence of black lung in central Appalachia and has contributed to a “culture of fear” among active coal miners. This research elucidates multiple issues faced by coal miners and the coal industry in general. As the coal industry has expanded production, it has generated greater environmental externalities and increased environmental health risks for miners. This problem is further complicated and intensified by the vast economic problems in Appalachia. The lack of alternative employment opportunities and protection in the workplace has created a “culture of fear” which leaves employed miners fearful of job loss and retaliation for speaking out. Furthermore, miners postpone black lung screening and diagnosis, fearing being stigmatized as sick and unable to work. This research offers a viable opportunity to discuss an obscured disease in hopes of mitigating future cases of black lung.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Aysha A. Bodenhamer is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Radford University. She is a broadly trained sociologist with teaching and research interests in a number of substantive areas including: environmental sociology, sociology of health & illness, rural sociology, and public sociology. Her research involves the intersection of environmental sociology, inequality, and occupational health. In particular, much of her research focuses on energy, from extraction to waste disposal and its impact on communities and workers. Bodenhamer is currently examining the contestation of black lung disease among coal miners in central Appalachia. In this multifaceted research project, she analyzes the ways in which black lung victims and their supporters confront the illness and challenge various agencies and institutions for redress, as well as the ways in which elites contest illness claims.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Tom Shriver is a Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University. His primary research and teaching interests are related to environmental sociology, social movements, environmental health, and environmental justice. He is currently working on several projects related to energy, environment and social movements. Most notably, he is conducting research on coal and climate change in the North Bohemian Coal Mining Basin of the Czech Republic. He is particularly interested in cross-cultural comparisons of the social and environmental impacts of coal and other fossil fuels.
Conference Subthemes
Health
The Resurgence of Black Lung: Economic Challenges and Escalating Risk
In recent years, miners have experienced a deadlier resurgence of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis (CWP), commonly known as black lung disease in central Appalachia. This research utilizes a qualitative approach and relies on several forms of data including: semi-structured interviews, direct observation, newspaper coverage, and government data and reports. Major findings suggest that the “coal crisis” (i.e. depleted seams, mechanization, competition from natural gas, and deunionization) have intensified the resurgence of black lung in central Appalachia and has contributed to a “culture of fear” among active coal miners. This research elucidates multiple issues faced by coal miners and the coal industry in general. As the coal industry has expanded production, it has generated greater environmental externalities and increased environmental health risks for miners. This problem is further complicated and intensified by the vast economic problems in Appalachia. The lack of alternative employment opportunities and protection in the workplace has created a “culture of fear” which leaves employed miners fearful of job loss and retaliation for speaking out. Furthermore, miners postpone black lung screening and diagnosis, fearing being stigmatized as sick and unable to work. This research offers a viable opportunity to discuss an obscured disease in hopes of mitigating future cases of black lung.
