Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis is what doctors used to call black lung disease, a devastating malady that affects coal miners. This disease causes severe damage to the lungs of people who inhale coal dust. Over time, this disease will cause scar tissue to form over membranes of the lungs, reducing the ability of the body to process oxygen.

In order to prevent this disease coal miners were made to wear respirators that are supposed to filter out coal dust, thereby preventing the conditions that make Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis possible. Unfortunately these devices are rarely up to the task, as a group of miners in western Kentucky discovered when they were forced to sue five leading respirator manufacturers for damages relating to Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis.