It is well-documented that breathing in silica dust, also known as quartz, is a prime culprit in the ongoing epidemic of complicated black lung disease, but regulations protecting coal miners from this dangerous substance are weak. With one in five Central Appalachian coal-miners who have worked 25 years or more underground now afflicted with the deadly disease, the consequence of these weak worker protections can be measured in lives. Currently, the Mine Safety and Health Administration allows miners to be exposed to as much as 100 micrograms of silica dust per cubic meter of air. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General both recommend that this level be reduced to 50 micrograms per cubic meter, which is the current legal level of exposure in all other industries. (You read that right. It is currently legal for coal miners to be exposed to