black lung disease
1
3.7
- noun
- /blæk lʌŋ dɪˈziːz/
- Specialized
:
enfermedad del pulmón negro
- Many coal miners suffer from black lung disease due to long-term exposure to coal dust.
- miners suffering from black lung disease
- black lung disease caused by coal
Examples
-
The impact of black lung disease is devastating, leading to serious health complications for affected workers.
-
In the case of Gary Fox, the law firm's own doctor had examined him and found black lung disease, something the law firm never did disclose.
-
Wishful thinking in Congress also produced dramatic increases in payments under particular programs, like the compensation system for coal miners suffering from black lung disease.
Academic text (1990) -
A good example is that black lung disease has actually increased by 40% since the 1970s due to different mining practices and a relaxing of regulatory oversight on mine owners.
Blog text (11) -
Then figure the deaths, such as happened in Utah with the coal miners, and also black lung disease for many miners; add their health costs to the coal kilowatt hours.
Blog text (23) -
But the dead had lung tissues stained blue-green by copper and cavernous regions of cellular breakdown, much like those produced by coal miners' black-lung disease.
Academic text (2002) -
Increased awareness of black lung disease has prompted more safety measures in coal mines.
Synonyms
5
6.7
A lung disease from breathing coal dust for a long time that often affects miners
1
6.2
A lung disease that comes from breathing coal dust for a long time
1
9.9
A long-term lung disease caused by breathing in dust at work
A lung disease from breathing in coal dust over a long time
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'black' modifies 'lung' and 'disease' signals a medical condition, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it is a lung disease involving blackened lungs (e.g., from soot or coal dust). Although it denotes a specific occupational illness, the overall meaning is transparently derived from the parts and should be clear to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Black lung disease comes from the image of miners whose lungs turn black after breathing coal dust for many years. So, the name means the 'lung illness' caused by that long-term breathing of coal dust.