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22 Appalachian J.L. 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/appalwj22 and id is 1 raw text is:                                                   Donna Kaitlyn Smith, ANALYSIS OF STATE-BY-STATE BLACK LUNG STATUTES OF
                                                  LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM A COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER, 22
                                                  APPALACHIAN JOURNAL OF LAw (2023).

STUDENT NOTES

ANALYSIS OF STATE-BY-STATE BLACK LUNG STATUTES OF

LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM A COAL MINER'S

DAUGHTER

Donna Kaitlyn Smitha
Keywords: Coal, Mining, Black Lung, STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS, Coal Miner

Appalachian   Journal of Law
Vol. 22, Issue 1, 2023

              As early as the 1840s, coal mining has been an industry that has provided energy
              for the country at a heavy price. This important commodity has come at the cost
              of coal miners health, and in many cases, their lives.

       I. History of Miners' Safety and Health Concerns

       America's   history  of coal mine  safety is gruesome   to say  the least. As early as
       the  1840s,  coal mining  has  been  an industry  that has  provided  energy  for the
       country   at a heavy  price.1 This important   commodity has come at the cost of
       coal miners'  health, and  in many  cases, their lives.2

       On   April  5, 2010, an  explosion  at the Upper   Big Branch   Mine,  a mine  in the
       heart  of West Virginia's coal country,  killed 29 miners.3 The  explosion  occurred
       after  a buildup   of methane   gases  due  to poor  ventilation  within  the  mine.4
       Massey   Energy,  the  operating  company,   accumulated more than 1,100 safety
       violations  in the  past three  years leading  up  to the  incident.5 Such   disasters
       have  been  relatively frequent  in  the United   States and  continue   even  today.'
       According to Mine Safety and Health Administration data, 37 miners have
       died  in work-related   accidents  this year; an  uptick  from  the  past four  years,
       where   an  average of 28  miners  had  died.7 Even  more   lethal, however,  are the
       lingering  health detriments   that follow miners  from  their work  place.








       a I am a coal miner's daughter and a first-generation college and law student currently enrolled at the Appalachian
         School of Law. After graduation, I plan on returning to the southern coalfields to practice law and help those in my
         community.
         1 Evolution of the Coal Industry in America, Arcadia Publ'g, https:/wwa cadiapubsh  comNavizat on(ommun t /Arcad a-and-THP-
         Blog/October-2017'Fvolution-of-the-oab-ndustryin-America (last visited Jan. 10, 2022).
         2 Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present, Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, https/-xwncdcgov/NJGSH-Minin, MMWC/
         MineDisasters.Tbl (last visitedJan. 10, 2022).
         3 The story behind the Upper BigBranch mine disaster, The World, (Apr. 13, 2010, 12:46PM), haps://diorld orgstories2010-04-13/sto K
         4 ehind-rner-bpgbranch-mine-cster.
         4 Id.
         s Id.
         6 Fatalities chargeable to the Mining Industry, U.S. Dep't of Lab., https://arlwebmsh zov/stas/chart/corbinedph (last updated Jan. 14,
         2022).
         7 Id.

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