Trump reconsiders rules protecting miners from black lung

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s mining regulators are reconsidering regulations meant to protect underground miners from breathing coal and rock dust, the cause of black lung disease, and diesel exhaust, which can cause cancer.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has requested public comments on whether standards “could be improved or made more effective or less burdensome by accommodating advances in technology, innovative techniques, or less costly methods.”

Some “requirements that could be streamlined or replaced in frequency” involve coal and rock dust . Others address diesel exhaust , which can have health impacts ranging from headaches and nausea to respiratory disease and cancer.

The Trump administration has said that many federal regulations, including pollution restrictions, have restricted the coal industry and other aspects of the economy.