AAP: As many as 1,000 coalminers may have black lung disease, the mining union says.
The potentially fatal disease is caused by the inhalation of coal dust over a long period, and can emerge up to 15 years after exposure.
A coalminer diagnosed with the first case of black lung in Australia in more than 60 years worked in an underground mine for six years after early signs of the disease were missed in a medical examination.
The CFMEU says it is very concerned about a backlog of screening x-rays...