Black lung disease takes toll on miners
By Xiao Zhang |
November 10, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SEEING the 12 liters of water doctors washed through his lungs emerge as black as tar, a veteran coal miner said he couldn't believe that his work as a miner in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is still taking its toll, even though he stopped working underground six years ago.
Long Huaiwen, 51, suffers from black lung disease, the legacy of the 16 years he spent crawling through coal seams and working at coal faces in Baicheng County.
Long and another 10 workers, aged 36 to 59, have been sent on a company-sponsored medical trip to have their lungs tested at the Xinjiang occupational disease hospital in the capital Urumqi, reported local news website portal Yaxin.com yesterday.
After undergoing two hours of lung lavage - where the lungs are washed out - dozens of bottles of the black liquid extracted from the miners were lined up on the shelf, a grim reminder of the coal dust they have inhaled.
After he was diagnosed with black lung disease - also known as or pneumoconiosis - in 2004, Long was transferred to work as a safety officer, reducing exposure to coal dust.
But the disease, caused by coal dust in the lungs, worsened, with Long left feeling breathless even when walking.
However, Long said he is luckier than many as his company is among the very few that regularly sends its workers for lung screening.
China reported 14,495 black lung disease cases last year, half in miners or former miners. Many companies refuse to compensate, denying an illness is work-related.
Last year, a 26-year-old construction worker voluntarily underwent an operation to open up his chest to prove he had black lung.
Long Huaiwen, 51, suffers from black lung disease, the legacy of the 16 years he spent crawling through coal seams and working at coal faces in Baicheng County.
Long and another 10 workers, aged 36 to 59, have been sent on a company-sponsored medical trip to have their lungs tested at the Xinjiang occupational disease hospital in the capital Urumqi, reported local news website portal Yaxin.com yesterday.
After undergoing two hours of lung lavage - where the lungs are washed out - dozens of bottles of the black liquid extracted from the miners were lined up on the shelf, a grim reminder of the coal dust they have inhaled.
After he was diagnosed with black lung disease - also known as or pneumoconiosis - in 2004, Long was transferred to work as a safety officer, reducing exposure to coal dust.
But the disease, caused by coal dust in the lungs, worsened, with Long left feeling breathless even when walking.
However, Long said he is luckier than many as his company is among the very few that regularly sends its workers for lung screening.
China reported 14,495 black lung disease cases last year, half in miners or former miners. Many companies refuse to compensate, denying an illness is work-related.
Last year, a 26-year-old construction worker voluntarily underwent an operation to open up his chest to prove he had black lung.
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