MANNINGTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) mobile occupational safety and health unit made its final stop of the year in Mannington on Tuesday.

Since 2005, thousands of coal miners have received free and confidential black lung screenings, which include a lung x-ray, blood pressure screening and breathing test.

Black lung is a disease that causes inflammation and scarring and is caused by the inhalation of coal dust. According to NIOSH, miners in West Virginia are particularly susceptible to the disease, with one in five miners with two and a half or more decades of experience contracting it and making the need for accessible and affordable screenings even more important.

Willis Jerome Hines, a retired coal miner who worked for more th

See Full Page