You turn to us for voices you won't hear anywhere else.

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day.

Dust, Deception and Death

Listen
Media Options
Listen

Related

    Polk Award recipient Gardner Harris decided to investigate why so many coal miners die each year, despite improved safety regulations. As of 1999, 1,500 coal miners die per year. He discovered that coal dust levels in most mines are much higher than allowed by law, but that workers are expected to lie about dust level tests in order to maintain their jobs. This tacit agreement between management, workers and government regulators keeps the miners in mortally dangerous work environments in return for earning a decent wage in regions where jobs are scarce.

    Guest:

    • Gardner Harris, Polk Award recipient, reports for the Louisville Courier Journal. His investigative series is called, “Dust, Deception and Death.”

    Related link:

    Related Story

    StoryMar 28, 2024I Could Not Stay Silent: Annelle Sheline Resigns from State Dept. over U.S. Gaza Policy
    The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

    Non-commercial news needs your support

    We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
    Please do your part today.
    Make a donation
    Top