More than 8,000 workers in Pingdingshan in central China's Henan Province, are suffering from an occupational lung disease, a health official said on Wednesday.

A total of 10,817 workers in the energy-producing, industrial city have fallen ill since 1957 with pneumoconiosis, a chronic lung disease caused by dust inhalation, said Yang Zhenmin, deputy director of the municipal health bureau.

Of that number, 2,741 have died, Zhang said.

"The huge number looks surprising, but it includes all the cases since 1957," he said. "And most were stricken before 1990."

The disease has struck 8,470 workers in Zhongping Energy Chemical Group, the nation's largest producer of the coal product, coke, over past decades. More than 5,800 are still suffering from illness.

Another 10,000 in the group are suspected to be suffering from pneumoconiosis.

At present, each year on average 30 to 40 company workers a year fall ill and the number of suspected cases increases by 100 to 200.

Guo Xianyong, head of a group-affiliated hospital, said the hospital now monitors the health condition of each miner and provides treatment for all patients.

Pingdingshan has an population of about 5 million and covers an area of 7,882 square km.

Last month, the plight of Zhang Haichao, a migrant worker in Henan, was brought into the spotlight. Zhang, 28, sought to prove a compensation claim by undergoing a biopsy.

Zhang underwent the operation to prove he suffered pneumoconiosis after he was denied compensation for debilitating lung disease caused by working at a brick factory in Henan.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2009)