Occupational Diseases: China Miners Risk Deadly Disease

Officials say that black lung disease accounts for three-quarters of all occupational disease in China. About 17 miners are killed daily in China's coal mines, although many labor groups believe the statistic should be higher. China's coal mines are the most dangerous in the world.

China Miners Risk Deadly Disease

677,000 cases of occupational disease have been reported since the 1950s. More than 90% of these cases were pneumoconiosis. Last year, black lung accounted for 76% of 11,000 occupational disease cases reported. Health minister spokesman Su Zhi said that "the proportion of pneumoconiosis cases was 1.44 percentage points higher than in 2005, and the latency period of the disease was shorter." China is working to improve safety standards.