black lung
noun1
Medicine, Pathology, Sciences A chronic disease of the lungs caused by the long-term inhalation of coal dust.
- Thousands of miners have given their lives and their health. They've got black lung, they can't work. The Pittston company is trying to cut off their health benefits by various means. That's what the strike is about.1989 December 3, Pam Mitchell, Ronnie Gilbert, “Carrying On The Honorable Tradition Of 'Protest Music'”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 21, page 9: