CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Testimony before U.S. District Judge Irene Berger in federal court in Charleston disputed whether the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and its black lung screening program is actually shut down.
Lawyers representing a West Virginia coal miner contend staff layoffs announced for NIOSH have made black lung screening programs impossible to carry out. Attorneys for the federal government countered that the final decisions have not been made yet, the programs could be reorganized and that it’s too soon to sue.
Berger took the arguments from a three-hour Wednesday hearing under advisement and told the attorneys she would soon rule on a request for injunction.
The attorney for coal miner Harry Wiley Jr. argued that the mandated coal miner health programs run by NIOSH should be kept in place until a decision on an alternative is made.
“Congress requires these programs to be there for our miners. You can’t just shut them down. You can’t just ignore the mandates of Congress,” said attorney Sam Petsonk.
Wiley, a 38-year veteran underground mine electrician, testified he had been diagnosed with black lung disease in January after a November 2024 screening. He told the court he had filed a workers comp claim and submitted his screening information to the Part 90 Low Dust Transfer Program in Morgantown. He said he never received any response from NIOSH. Wiley continues to work underground at a Raleigh County coal mine.
A second coal miner, Matthew Ward of Wharncliff in Mingo County who has worked underground for 32 years, also testified he had been diagnosed with black lung in April. He made a similar application to the Respiratory Disease program at NIOSH in Morgantown and still had received no response. Ward is still employed, but for the time being is off work because of an unrelated on the job injury. He anticipated being cleared to return to work in the weeks ahead.
In both cases, Petsonk and his legal team argued the miners like Wiley and Ward are suffering irreparable harm because without the Part 90 letter from NIOSH they cannot continue the process of seeking a low dust job from their employer through the Mine Safety and Health Act. Two different NIOSH epidemiologists, Dr. Anthony “Scott” Laney and Dr. Noemi Hall testified to the rapid progression of black lung in miners who remain in a dusty workplace.
Hall and Laney both testified they had received Reduction in Force notifications and both were on administrative leave with a June 2 termination date. Laney told the court the work done by the team in Morgantown is extremely specific. He said Morgantown is the only operation in the United States with a focus on workplace respiratory illness, particularly for coal miners.
“Very few people in the world do what we do. It’s very specialized,” Laney testified.
He noted a gathering of doctors who specialize in the work at Pipestem Resort last year wasn’t enough to fill a small conference room.
“Is anyone in other federal agencies working on black lung research?” asked attorney Mike Becker of Hall.
“No,” she responded.
Laney and Hall also testified they had no indication of a plan for the future of NIOSH or any programs where the NIOSH duties would be reorganized or moved to another agency.
“Are you aware of any efforts to preserve and protect the research and work currently done in your offices in Morgantown?” Becker questioned.
“No.” said Hall
“Any status of projects or plans for the future of NIOSH?”
“No.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Westfall, representing the federal Department of Health and Human Services in the hearing, argued the agency is not shut down, but is simply undergoing reorganization.
“We disagree with that,” Petsonk said, “because it says on their website, ‘You can’t file a transfer request, you can’t submit a x-rays to us right now.’ The government is telling people in the wider world that the program is shut down. All we’re asking for the court to do is keep these people working and keep these agencies assisting miners and preventing the escalation of the disease.”
He continued, “If President Trump wants to reorganize these agencies, he’s the President and he has the right to reorganize. He doesn’t have the right to shut down programs mandated by Congress to protect thousands of working coal miners across this country.”
Story by Chris Lawrence, MetroNews