A mobile black lung clinic is back in operation after being sidelined by Trump administration cuts.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) mobile black lung clinic sat for weeks behind the NIOSH office in Morgantown.
That changed late last month, when the big vehicle made stops in southwest Pennsylvania and Mylan Park in Morgantown.
Laura Reynolds, team lead for the Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program at NIOSH, said the clinic will visit Wheeling next month, pending approval.
“We’re working on it,” she said. “We’ve put in some requests. We haven’t been approved yet, but we just put it in.”
The clinic screens current and former coal miners for black lung disease. Black lung can’t be cured, but active miners can slow the disease’s progression by limiting their exposure to dust.
William Singleton, who’s 75, came to the clinic because his granddaughter works at NIOSH. He spent 28 years in the mines, ending in 1997.
“It was good for my family,” he said. “I raised my family. You gotta do what you gotta do.”
Reynolds said most black lung screenings take place in community clinics. The mobile clinic gives miners, especially retired ones like Singleton, another option.
“When they’re active miners and currently working, they can go to the clinics in the community, and then our mobile unit allows former miners to come as well,” she said.
The mobile clinic’s Morgantown visit overlapped with a mine rescue competition, so current miners could take advantage of the screenings.
“It really depends on the day,” she said. “Yesterday was pretty good. We saw 26 miners. So far today, I think we’ve had about eight.”
The free screenings include an evaluation of work history and respiratory health, a chest X-ray, a lung function test and a blood pressure test.
Those who participate can expect results in eight to 10 weeks.
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