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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2000

NEW BLACK-LUNG RULES IGNORE SCIENCE, PLACE MINERS' JOBS IN JEOPARDY: MSHA'S OWN SCREENING PROGRAM PROVES NEW REGS NOT NEEDED

Washington - Legitimate black lung claimants, coal miners, and American consumers will suffer due to the Department of Labor's sweeping changes to the Federal Black Lung Benefits program. The new rules, published in today's Federal Register, have been called "critically flawed" by numerous organizations, but are scheduled to go into effect on January 19, 2001.

"The number of cases of coal workers pneumoconiosis has declined steadily over the past three decades proving the dust-control technologies being implemented by the coal mining industry are working," said NMA President and Chief Executive Officer Jack N. Gerard.

According to X-ray screening programs administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, incidents of black lung disease have been declining considerably from about 11% of all miners tested in the early 1970's to approximately 3% of all miners tested in the 1990's.

Further evidence shows that trend is continuing. Last October, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), began offering free, confidential chest X-rays under its Miners' Choice Health Screening program. The program's first year results were released by MSHA earlier this week and showed only slightly more than 2 percent of the 11,970 miners tested revealed evidence of black lung.

"We applaud MSHA's screening program and are proud of the technologies put in place by the mining industry to modernize working conditions in our coal mines," said Gerard. "These conclusions call into question the need for changes to an already successful approach to ensuring the well-being of our nation's coal miners."

"It is appalling that these efforts and successes have been ignored by this Administration which appears intent on promulgating sweeping changes to the current Federal Black Lung Benefits program. These rules will be detrimental to the underground coal mining industry and cost America thousands of high-paying jobs," Gerard added.

By the government's own admission in its Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, the new rules threaten the closure of many of our nation's small bituminous mines due to the exorbitant compliance costs. In addition, the proposed regulations will adversely affect American consumers who will incur excessive costs in the form of high taxes and higher electric bills.

The Department of Labor has been criticized during this rulemaking for rejecting extensive medical and scientific evidence submitted and presented by renowned medical doctors and organizations. Gerard explains, "Under the new rules, claimants with non-black lung ailments (smokers and claimants with other non-black lung related respiratory and pulmonary disorders) are eligible to receive black lung benefits.

This will drive up the number of claims and result in a needless delay of benefits for legitimate black lung claimants."

The NMA maintains that the proposed rules violate Congressional intent of the current Federal Black Lung Benefits program. Changes to the existing program were proposed and rejected by Congress in 1995.

"We are still reviewing the thousands of pages of rules and ancillary documentation, but the final rules resemble those proposed in 1997 and re-proposed in 1999. We are evaluating all of our legal options to determine how best to proceed," said Gerard.

The U.S. mining industry produces coal, metals, building materials, and many other essential minerals that define the daily lives of 267 million Americans. The mining industry generates over $500 billion in total economic benefit each year and helps to sustain nearly 5 million U.S. jobs.