Occupationally-related disease

I chose to analyze Pneumoconiosis (Black Lung)

Pneumoconiosis is the lung disease, which is caused by long-term exposure to coal dust and primarily occurs among coal workers and coal miners. The illness per se is similar to silicosis or tobacco smoking. 

My grandfather was a coal worker and heavy smoker. We, unfortunately, lost him when I was around ten. He died from lung cancer when he was 60 years old. 

 Black Lung is not a new disease. First, it was discovered about 5, 000 years ago in Bronze Age China. In 1846 Scottish physician Archibald Makellar sketched out the picture of the disease from observing coal workers, who were exposed to the dust. Makellar named the condition “black phthisis.” In 1950 thousands of coal workers heavily suffered from pneumoconiosis. In 1960 the coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) crisis reached its pique. United  Mine Workers of America went on strike in 1968. In response to that Congress passed the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, or Coal Act for short in 1969. The Act was signed into law by Richard Nixon. At the beginning of the 1970s, the Act went into effect. Between 2000 and 2009 the number of CWP cases grew up. That led to the need of changing coal workers protection standards, strengthening safety rules and improve protection tools. Eventually, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health obliged industries to implement and assure in the quality of new standards. NIOSH also implemented the Coal Miners Surveillance Program. The program included not only Exray screenings but also lung function testing by using spirometry (how well your lungs work by measuring how much air you inhale, how much you exhale and how quickly you exhale). Researchers hope now that those early screenings and preventive measures will help in preventing miners from disabling.