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You're Invited:
Registration is now open for the Central Appalachia Black Lung and PMF Summit: Responding to the Epidemic on Friday, September 6, 2019 at Mountain Empire Community College. This event is a nonpartisan, official U.S. Senate event that is free to attend. The event will bring further awareness to the growing black lung and PMF epidemic and discuss how the region and federal government are responding. It is made possible by the support of our co-hosts, Stone Mountain Health Services and Mountain Empire Community College.
We are happy to announce Howard Berkes as our keynote speaker. He recently retired after 38 years as a correspondent at NPR, where he covered the American West, rural America and the Olympics. Berkes spent the last eight years of his career focused on investigative reporting, including coal mine and workplace safety. His investigations of the resurgence of black lung disease, and the epidemic of Progressive Massive Fibrosis, have prompted new research on respirable coal and silica dust and calls for direct and tougher regulation of silica dust in coal mines. Berkes has earned more than 40 awards for investigative, science, business, sports, breaking news, health and feature reporting. He was awarded a Nieman Foundation Journalism Fellowship at Harvard University in 1997.
Agenda:
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9:00 AM
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Welcome
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Theresa Burriss, Radford University
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Margaret Tomann, Stone Mountain Health Services
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9:10 AM
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Updates from Washington, DC
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Greg Mathis, Jr., Office of Senator Mark Warner
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Craig Radcliffe, Office of Senator Mark Warner
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9:50 AM
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Break
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10:00 AM
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Panel 1: Overview of the Black Lung Claims Process
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Moderated by Theresa Burriss
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Panelists: Wes Addington, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center; Bradley Johnson, Stone Mountain Health Services; John Robinson, Retired Coal Miner
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11:00 AM
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Panel 2: The Impact of Rock Dust on Miners’ Health
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Moderated by Theresa Burriss
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Panelists: Drew Harris, UVA Pulmonology and Stone Mountain Health Services; Terry Ratliff, Former Miner and Mine Inspector;
Emily Sarver, Virginia Tech; Patricia Silvey, Mine Safety and Health Administration
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12:00 PM
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Lunch
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12:30 PM
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Keynote by Howard Berkes
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1:30 PM
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Event Wrap-up and Visiting Appalachian Regional Commission POWER Grantees’ Booths
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If you want to share your thoughts on an issue that’s important to you, you can send me an email any time using the form on my Senate website. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
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