Australia reports 19th case of "black lung"

A coal miner in the Australian state of Queensland was diagnosed with black lung on Wednesday in the 19th case of the lung disease reported in the past two years in Australia.

The disease otherwise known as coal workers' pneumoconiosis, is caused by exposure over a long period of time to the dust that accumulates in coal mines, and had been thought to have been eradicated in Australia.

This follows a diagnosis in New South Wales last month, the first in the state in 50 years, where a man who left the industry in 2014 was diagnosed with the illness, with the other 18 cases originating in Queensland.

The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CMFEU) insists mining companies should pay a penalty of 10 cents per metric ton of coal they produce in order to provide medical treatment for the workers, and spokesman Stephen Smyth said they owe a duty of care to their employees.

"The system of identifying and remedying the causes of the disease have clearly failed, and it is workers and their families who are paying the price," Smyth said.

"The mining industry sits at the centre of the problem and it is the mining industry that needs to play a key role in supporting victims and their families."

Symptoms of black lung disease include shortness of breath, severe cough, feeling of pressure in the chest. There is no cure for the disease. Endit