Retired miners urged to get screened as lung disease cases rise
A former miner of 50 years suffering from silicosis is urging comrades to get checked as the number of Mine Dust Lung Disease cases surge across Queensland.
Mackay
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Mine dust lung disease cases have surged by 27 per cent over the past 12 months as pleas grow for retired and former Queensland mine and quarry workeres to take up free testing.
There were 95 cases of MDLD reported to Resources Safety and Health Queensland over the 2022-23 financial year, compared to 75 the year before.
The disease may take more than a decade to surface, and includes conditions such as coal workers’ or mixed dust pneumoconiosis (also called black lung), COPD, silicosis, asbestosis or cancer.
“Pneumoconiosis are the result of the body repeatedly trying to heal irritations caused by breathing in respirable coal, crystalline silica or mixed dusts,” RSHQ states.
“The accumulated damage results in scarring of the lung tissue which reduces the elasticity of the lung, interferes with breathing and reduces the ability of the lungs to get oxygen from the air into the bloodstream.”
One person who thought he was immune to MDLD’s touch was former minerals miner of 50 years Steve Carson who was diagnosed with silicosis in 2021.
“I used to have a bit of a cough in the mornings and maybe that was a little bit of fear on my side – that, ‘What if I’ve got it? I’m better off enjoying my life now and I’ll just deal with it when it comes to rather than go and find out now’,” the Mount Isa resident said.
“(The disease) can happen to anybody that works in the mining industry, benchtop cutters, people that cut concrete.
“If you find out you’ve got a MDLD, don’t give up, don’t throw in the towel because there’s people out there that will help you.
“(The check) didn’t cost me one cent – they looked after me from start to finish.
“The important part is to find out because sometimes there’s things they can do if you’re in the early stages, but most importantly you know and can make informed decisions about what to do next.”
150,000 CHEST X-RAYS CARRIED OUT
Resources Minister Scott Stewart said more than 150,000 chest X-rays had been performed on current or former workers since 2016 to screen for MDLD.
“We always want people to get tested because early detection is critical to enable people to access support and treatment sooner,” Mr Stewart said.
RSHQ administers free lung health checks every five years, for life, via an approved doctor or as part of Heart of Australia’s HEART 5 Mobile Health Unit, which launched in February last year.
“More than 700 former workers who otherwise may not have gotten tested, have accessed a free lung health check through the program run by RSHQ,” Mr Stewart said.
RSHQ Occupational Health executive director Dean Barr said the ongoing checks, which included chest X-ray and spirometry as well as high-resolution CT scans when required, were important as the disease could develop “many years after workers retire from the industry”.
The recent spike in the detection of MDLD cases has brought the total number of diagnoses since 1984 for current or former miners to 400.
Over the past 12 months, there were 58 reported cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, two of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, 14 where a person had multiple forms of MDLD, eight cases waiting on the type of MDLD to be confirmed, 10 cases of silicosis, one of mixed dust pneumoconiosis, and two of cancer.
You can learn more about MDLD here. You can also phone the Mine Dust Health Support Service on 1300 445 715.
The HEART 5 unit will be at the Big Red Rhino Bucket in Moranbah from August 7 to 8, at the Gemfields Multi-purpose Centre in the The Gemfields from August 10 to 11, and at Emerald Showgrounds in Emerald on August 12.
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