Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis-Associated Deaths — United States, 2020-2023

Details

• Personal Author:
  Mazurek, Jacek M. ; Dodd, Katelynn E. ; Syamlal, Girija ; Blackley, David J. ; Weissman, David N.
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is an occupational lung disease caused by inhaling coal mine dust. Although the disease is preventable, new cases and CWP-associated deaths continue to occur. What is added by this report? In this exploratory analysis of 2020-2023 national cause-of-death data, 1,754 deaths associated with CWP among U.S. residents aged ≥15 years were reported (age-adjusted CWP death rate = 1.3 per 1 million). Increased risk for CWP-associated death was observed among workers in the mining industry and among construction and extraction workers. What are the implications for public health practice? The continuing occurrence of CWP-associated deaths underscores the potential value of a comprehensive prevention program (control of exposures to coal mine dust, early disease detection, and medical care) and supports potential benefits of ongoing surveillance.
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Mining Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Pneumoconiosis Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal workers pneumoconiosis; Black lung disease; Lung disease; Coal dust; Coal mining; Mortality rates
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  0149-2195
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  West Virginia ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  7 pdf pages
• Volume:
  74
• Issue:
  41
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071112
• Citation:
  MMWR 2025 Dec; 74(41):627-633
• Email:
  acq8@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9c4534a90e9b0ff47af9695272d4c55ae975cc386363d86d4189879e2ea27653c5188abc4a039da5b8f89465da5bed660b8e256dd359cbecd9b1dfdd81ec4c77
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/257888/cdc_257888_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 335.01 KB ]