
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 1990                   TAG: 9004180061
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

OVERSIGHT HEARING ON BLACK LUNG SET

The U.S. House subcommittee on Labor Standards will hold an oversight hearing on the federal black lung benefits program Friday at Prestonsburg Community College in Prestonsburg, Ky.

Representatives of the Virginia Black Lung Association, based in Richlands, will testify.

Black lung, or coal miners' pneumoconiosis, is a disease caused by breathing coal dust.

The hearing will focus on the low approval rate for black lung claims, attempts by the Department of Labor to reclaim benefits originally granted to claimants and the difficulty of claimants in obtaining legal help to seek benefits.

Black lung claims are paid for by a fund financed by a royalty on each ton of coal mined.

by CNB