PHOTO ESSAY: Coal miners with black lung fight Trump administration rollback of safety protections

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OAK HILL, W.Va. (AP) — Deep in the hills of West Virginia, coal mining and the dangers that come with it have been a part of families’ lives for generations. Death and tragedy are woven into history, but there’s also a fierce legacy of miners fighting for — and winning — protections that have benefitted workers nationwide.

As black lung rates rise among workers — including those in their 30s and 40s — forced to dig through more rock filled with deadly silica to reach the remaining thin coal seams, some sick retired coal miners from central Appalachia are fighting back. They are demanding the Trump administration enforce a rule approved last year by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration that would cut the federal limit for allowable respirable crystalline silica dust exposure by half to help protect all types of miners nationwide from the current driving force of black lung and other illnesses.

The silica rule was put on hold before it took effect in April after industry groups suing the government filed a request in court to block it, citing costs and difficulties implementing it. The administration did not push back against the lawsuit, and was granted another extension in October due to the government shutdown.

But West Virginia coal miners have a proud legacy of fighting. Congress passed the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 after roughly 40,000 miners walked off the job in an unauthorized wildcat strike, demanding better black lung protections and benefits. The legislation required government oversight and enforcement at coal mines and established breathable dust standards — the same ones the 2024 silica rule would cut in half — and compensation for miners disabled by black lung.

Last month, dozens of former miners from central Appalachia traveled to Washington to fight again. This time to protest the silica rule’s delay along with cuts and proposed rollbacks to health and safety protections. Their opposition comes months after President Donald Trump signed executive orders to allow coal-fired plants to pollute more and to streamline the permitting process and open up new areas for mineral production, including oil and natural gas drilling and mining of “beautiful, clean coal.” At the time, he was celebrated at the White House by smiling miners in hard hats, including some with West Virginia stickers, as he promised to put more people to work underground.

The White House and the Labor Department insisted the administration can maintain miners’ health and safety while rolling back regulations.

“President Trump cares about our miners more than any other president in modern history – which is why he has implemented his energy dominance agenda to protect their jobs and revive the mining industry,” said White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers.

But some former coal miners who voted for Trump have lost faith in him.

“They’re doing everything they can to hurt the working man,” said Randy Lawrence, president of the Kanawha County Black Lung Association, who lugged his oxygen tank to the protest. “They ain’t worried about the miners or people in West Virginia or coal miners anywhere. All they’re worried about is the almighty dollar in D.C. They don’t care about the little people that put them there.”

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.