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![Dust circles a worker during the construction of the Hawks Nest Tunnel in 1930. Workers on the project were exposed to toxic levels of silica dust; hundreds ultimately died.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/104503-cfc257c09eae6b70d33433a6022380a9a5a15faa-1-900x422.jpg)
Before Black Lung, The Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster Killed Hundreds
By: Adelina Lancianese | NPR
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One of the worst industrial disasters in American history is a forgotten example of the dangers of silica, the toxic dust behind the modern black lung epidemic in Appalachia.