President of the West Virginia Board of Education David Perry joined Suzanne Higgins host The Legislature Today last night to discuss some of the biggest education issues, concerns and ideas for this legislative session, including an omnibus education bill expected to be taken up this week in Senate Education.
A multi-year investigation led by veteran NPR reporter Howard Berkes revealed last month that more than 2,000 coal miners are now suffering from the most severe form of black lung disease.
The investigation uncovered that data collected for decades by federal regulators showed miners were being exposed to toxic silica dust, generated when miners cut rock to get to coal.
But despite clear warnings from the data, the mining industry and government regulators did little to stop silica exposures, leaving thousands of coal miners to pay the price. Berkes spoke with energy and environment reporter Brittany Patterson about the joint NPR/PBS-Frontline investigation’s documentary film “Coal’s Deadly Dust,” which begins airing tonight.
