Morgantown, West Virginia — In West Virginia’s coal country, Marion Tennant says he was destined to work in the mines.
“That was the only thing in this area when I graduated high school,” Tennant said.
That was in 1974, when Tennant was protected by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH.
For decades it offered free screenings for black lung, a chronic disease caused by prolonged exposure to coal dust. But the screenings have stopped because of President Trump’s mandated budget cuts.
Tennant says he’s worried for the younger workers.
“What’s going to happen, I’m afraid, is your young ones, before they realize what they’ve done to their body, they’re gonna have black lung, and the numbers is going to rise,” Tennant said.
Catherine Blackwood was a PhD scientist at the NIOSH facility in Morgantown, West Virginia, where she studied the dangers of mold exposure.
“I’m angry that we are just being cast aside,” Blackwood said.
Her job was eliminated April 1, along with over 200 others at the facility — from the people who oversee mine safety to those who study cancer-causing chemicals in firefighters.
“I’m really worried and fearful about what the impacts are going to be on the rest of us,” Blackwood said.
And it’s not just about Morgantown.
“Every single person faces different hazards at their work every day. And without NIOSH, I think that we are all in danger,” Blackwood said.
Although some roles were temporarily reinstated in recent days, the Trump administration still plans to terminate all staff in the coming months, leaving the future of the health screenings and other programs in doubt.
When asked about the cuts to crucial programs, a Health and Human Services spokesperson said in part: “The department remains focused on cutting wasteful bureaucracy and eliminating duplicative administrative roles.”
But Blackwood says, “The work being done at NIOSH was not wasteful. It was not duplicative. It was not redundant. The research that was being done at NIOSH was being done nowhere else in the world.”
West Virginia isn’t only coal country — it’s Trump country. He won the state in 2024 with 70% of the vote.
Tennant, now retired, says he didn’t vote for former Vice President Kamala Harris or Mr. Trump.
“He’s looking at the coal-fired power plants, but he’s also doing away with NIOSH that helps the safety of the coal miners,” Tennant said.
The budget for NIOSH was about $363 million in 2023, the same year that job injuries and illnesses cost Americans around $176 billion, according to the National Safety Council. Without NIOSH, officials say that number could be higher.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that eviscerating NIOSH, as they have, will cause people to die,” Blackwood said.
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