Coal mining might seem like a job of the past, but global demand for it has actually surged in the past few years. Nearly 7,000 coal miners are still working in the industry. But the job is killing them. Inhalation of coal dust particles is leading to black lung, an incurable condition that workers describe as drowning in their own lung fluid. Worse yet, Canada doesn’t have a tracking system, which makes compensation difficult for many miners.
Decades after coal fuelled Canada, miners are now being left behind. Greg Mercer, investigative reporter for The Globe, spoke to the workers fighting to have their labour remembered – and to protect future generations.
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