Radiologists sought for black lung checks

The Queensland government wants Australian radiology firms to double check coal miners' X-rays for black lung disease.

Since last July, miners' X-rays have been checked once in Australia and then double-checked in the United States.

Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said having the X-rays double-checked in Queensland would reduce the time it took to get results from 40 days to just seven.

"We will have the world's best practice here in Queensland to protect the health of our coal mining community," Dr Lynham said on Friday.

The tender will close by the end of May, and the firm awarded the contract will be announced by the end of July, with the dual reading system expected to be set up by the end of the year.

Since 2015, 20 Queensland coal miners have been officially diagnosed with black lung, which had been believed to have been eradicated, although experts believe a lack of testing meant many cases were missed over the decades.