black lung

black lung, respiratory disorder, a type of pneumoconiosis caused by repeated inhalation of coal dust over a period of years. The disease gets its name from a distinctive blue-black marbling of the lung caused by accumulation of the dust. Georgius Agricola, a German mineralogist, first described lung disease in coal miners in the 16th century, and it is now widely recognized. It may be the best known occupational illness in the United States.

The disease is most commonly found among miners of hard coal, but it also occurs in soft-coal miners and graphite workers. Onset of the disease is gradual; the symptoms usually appear only after 10–20 years of exposure to coal dust, and the extent of disease is clearly related to the total dust exposure. It is not clear, however, whether coal itself is solely responsible for the disease, as coal dust often is contaminated with silica, which causes similar symptoms. There is strong evidence that tobacco smoking aggravates the condition. The early stages of the disease (when it is called anthracosis) usually have no symptoms, but in its more advanced form it frequently is associated with pulmonary emphysema or chronic bronchitis and can be disabling; tuberculosis is also more common in victims of black lung.