The silica rock that the builders of the Hawks Nest Tunnel drilled through — completely unprotected — is being breathed by Appalachian coal miners today, in 2025.

In the photo above, 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 ...

A West Virginia tunnel where hundreds of construction workers died from silica-choked passageways is set to undergo its first inspection in more than 80 years. The Hawks Nest Tunnel has diverted ...

Drilled through three miles of solid rock, the Hawks Nest Tunnel is a major hydroelectric water diversion tunnel and an engineering marvel. Largely constructed between 1930 and 1932, the project ...

In the photo above, 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.

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.

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.