With the number of black lung cases on the rise, it's good to know there are some in Washington going to bat for coal miners affected with the potentially deadly disease caused by exposure to coal dust that accumulates in the lungs and causes shortness of breath.

The effort by Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Bob Casey was fueled by a yearlong investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and ABC News that examined how doctors and lawyers, working on behalf of the coal industry, helped defeat the benefits claims of sick miners.The senators believe there are too many being denied basic justice. New reporting reveals that the mining industry and federal regulators have known for more than two decades that coal miners were breathing excessive amounts of the coal dust and that the industry failed to protect coal miners.Casey said the black lungs claims process is fundamentally broken and that our aging and sick coal miners shouldn't be denied their medical records or decent legal representation. His bill would help miners develop evidence in their claims; require applicants to disclose all medical evidence; strengthen criminal penalties for making false statements in the claims process; and create a system to pay a portion of miners' legal fees earlier in the litigation process.Most miners have to wait more than a year to get their cases heard because of a backlog numbering in the thousands. Casey also noted that black lung cases have steadily risen, which is supported by hard research.Scott Laney, an epidemiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said the incidence of black lung has doubled in the last decade and calls it a public health epidemic. He and other experts are shocked at the rising number of younger miners with black lung.Casey has promised to push his bill during the lame-duck session of Congress at the end of the year and if unsuccessful, vows to start over next year. More than 76,000 miners have died at least in part because of the disease since 1968. Time is ticking away for the thousands who are affected and any federal help can't come soon enough.By Jim Zbickeditor@tnonline.com