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    Black Lung Study: Biggest Cluster Ever Of Fatal Coal Miners' Disease

    A new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms the largest cluster of black lung disease in coal miners ever reported.
    by Howard Berkes Feb 06, 2018 5 minutes
    In this historical image, a doctor reviews an x-ray of a patient suffering from black lung disease. In southwestern Virginia, federal researchers say they've identified the largest cluster ever recorded of the most advanced stage of the disease.

    Epidemiologists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) say they've identified the largest cluster of advanced black lung disease ever reported, a cluster that was first uncovered by NPR 14 months ago.

    In a "research letter" published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, NIOSH confirms 416 cases of Progressive Massive Fibrosis (PMF) or complicated black lung in three clinics in southwestern Virginia from 2013 to 2017.

    "This is the largest cluster of Progressive Massive Fibrosis ever reported in the scientific literature," says Scott Laney, a NIOSH epidemiologist involved in the study.

    "We've gone from having nearly eradicated PMF in the mid-1990s to the highest concentration of cases that anyone has ever seen," Laney added.

    The clinics are operated by Stone Mountain Health Services and assess and treat coal miners mostly from Virginia,

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