Appalachia’s black lung rates highest in nearly 50 years as miners’ protections stall

By: Justin Hicks, Howard Berkes

Outlets: Kentucky Lantern

Published: August 5, 2026

Words: 2,597

Last Updated: 2 weeks ago

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This story was published through the Appalachian News Exchange, a regional media collaboration.

Respiratory therapist Marcy Freeman doesn’t need a research study to confirm for her a return to the dark days of coal mining. She finds evidence in a stack of more than 150 funeral programs, all for former patients at her pulmonary rehabilitation clinic in Norton, Virginia.

“Each one of these represents a life that’s gone because of black lung,” Freeman …

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