Action on black lung after scathing report

Tougher dust controls, new and improved testing, better trained medicos and a compensation safety net are part of the state's action plan to protect some 5500 coal workers from black lung disease.

The overhaul in detecting and preventing the disease follows a Queensland government report that found systemic failures and widespread complacency caused the deadly miner's disease to re-emerge.

Eleven people have been diagnosed since last year and there are 18 more suspected cases after chest X-rays were reviewed in the US.