A West Virginia University professor will study the effects of coal dust in miners, particularly lung and respiratory ailments like black lung disease, as part of a Congressionally ordered committee.
Michael McCawley, the interim chair of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences in the WVU School of Public Health, was appointed to the National Academies of Sciences committee, which is tasked with identifying important research gaps regarding monitoring and sampling protocols for controlling miners’ exposure to coal dust.
For additional comments and details, he can be reached by email at mamccawley@hsc.wvu.edu or by phone at 304.293.8042.
“We need information on dust sampling and dust control in the mines, and the best way to do that is to hear from the miners and operators themselves,” McCawley said. “Our most important task is to report on the early changes that have been made in response to the new coal mine dust regulations.”
McCawley will participate in an open public forum on Thursday, April 13, at the Marriott Charleston Town Center in Charleston.
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