A ninth Queensland coal miner has been diagnosed with black lung disease, a day after the eighth case was confirmed.
The 62-year-old underground coal miner works in the Bowen Basin in central Queensland.
A spokesperson for the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Mines confirmed the worker’s case of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), also known as black lung disease.
Yesterday, the department confirmed the eighth case in Queensland after a 55-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease. The man had worked at a number of Bowen Basin mines in the past 20 years.
Black lung disease is caused by extended exposure to coal dust and was thought to have been eradicated about 30 years ago.
A clinical focus published in the Medical Journal of Australia earlier this month recommended an industry-funded screening program for at-risk workers every three years and mandatory reporting of cases to a register.
The report said one tougher standard of exposure limit was also needed in Australia to help eradicate the disease.
Current coal dust exposure limits vary between states and show considerable variations of monitoring protocols between sites.
In Queensland, 3.5 milligrams of coal dust per metre cubed is allowed, whereas in New South Wales it is 2.5mg.
The report found NSW had probably been more stringent when it came to the regulation and implementation of screening.
The article came two months after a Senate committee called for a national coal dust exposure standard and an industry fund to cover medical costs.