Black lung victim welcomes inquiry

An ex-miner left breathless after a few steps due to black lung disease hopes a national inquiry will help save younger workers from the illness.

An ex-miner left housebound by black lung disease has welcomed a national inquiry into the illness. (AAP)

An ex-miner left housebound by black lung disease has welcomed a national inquiry into the illness.

The Senate announced this week it will investigate the re-emergence of black lung, or coalminer's pneumoconiosis.

"I think it's a good thing now the government's stepped in ... because we've got to make it better for the younger generation coming into the mines and I'd hate to see them suffer the way I do," Percy Verrall, 72, told reporters from his Queensland home on Friday.