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Environmental Impacts of Coal On Land and Water

Coal mining has significant negative environmental impacts on both land and water. Strip mining, which accounts for 40% of coal extraction, damages ecosystems by clearing away trees, soil, and rocks. This leads to soil erosion, pollution of waterways, and destruction of habitats. Underground mining causes land subsidence as support structures are removed. It also lowers water tables and brings toxic waste to the surface. Acid mine drainage from exposed rocks and coal contaminates water sources with heavy metals long after mining ends unless reclamation is performed. Overall, coal mining degrades the natural environment in numerous ways.

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69 views

Environmental Impacts of Coal On Land and Water

Coal mining has significant negative environmental impacts on both land and water. Strip mining, which accounts for 40% of coal extraction, damages ecosystems by clearing away trees, soil, and rocks. This leads to soil erosion, pollution of waterways, and destruction of habitats. Underground mining causes land subsidence as support structures are removed. It also lowers water tables and brings toxic waste to the surface. Acid mine drainage from exposed rocks and coal contaminates water sources with heavy metals long after mining ends unless reclamation is performed. Overall, coal mining degrades the natural environment in numerous ways.

Uploaded by

drbasit93
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF COAL ON LAND AND WATER

Coal mining:
In order to dig the coal out from beneath the surface of earth, the lands are dug deep to reach to coal
mines. In doing so, the natural habitat of humans as well as animals is damaged to a degree of no return.
Hence land is affected adversely due to coal mining.
There are two types of mining involved in extraction of coal, strip mining and underground mining.
Strip mining impacts:
About 40 percent of the world’s coal mines are the more damaging strip mines (also called open cast,
open pit, mountaintop or surface mining). Because strip mining is more economical as less labor is
required therefore it is preferred over the latter type.
Strip mining damages and pollutes ecosystems
Strip mining clears trees, plants and topsoil. Mining companies scrape away earth and rocks to get to coal
buried near the surface. Mountains may be blasted apart to reach thin coal seams within, leaving
permanent scars on the landscape. In this way, strip mining destroys landscapes, forests and wildlife
habitats. It leads to soil erosion and destruction of agricultural land.

Strip mining contaminates water


When rain washes topsoil disturbed by mining into streams, these sediments pollute waterways. This can
hurt fish and smother plant life downstream. It can also disfigure river channels and streams, which leads
to flooding.
When miners upturn earth, minerals and heavy metals within it can dissolve into mine wastewater and
seep into the water table. This increases risk of chemical contamination of groundwater and acid mine
drainage. Strip mining also lowers groundwater levels around the mine. This is because, in order to
remove coal, vast quantities of groundwater must be pumped out of the mine. As a result, surrounding
ecosystems and farmland may become drier, and erosion may start to change the landscape. Strip mining
also uses significant amount of water to suppress dust.
Washing coal (to remove unwanted materials) creates a toxic waste slurry that can threaten surface waters
or leak into groundwater.
Underground coal mining impacts
Subsidence
Collapse of earth into underground mines, or subsidence, is a serious problem. In room-and-pillar and
long-wall mines, columns of coal and other structures are used to support the ground above. Later in the
mining process, they are often taken out. The mines are left to collapse. The land above starts to sink,
seriously damaging buildings and entire landscapes. Subsidence can also cause farmland to fill with water
and become wetland or lakes.
Underground mine water drained away
Underground mining lowers the water table, changing the flow of groundwater and streams. What’s
worse, removing so much water creates a kind of funnel that drains groundwater from an area that is
much larger than the immediate coal-mining environment.

Underground mines bring toxins to surface


Underground mining also brings huge amounts of waste earth and rock to the surface. This waste often
becomes toxic when it contacts air and water.

Acid mine drainage


When coal and other rocks unearthed during mining mix with water, this creates acid mine drainage. The
water takes on toxic levels of minerals and heavy metal and leaks out of abandoned mines. From there it
contaminates groundwater, streams, soil, plants, animals and humans.
Taking on an orange colour, it can blanket rivers, estuaries or sea beds, killing plants and making surface
water unusable for drinking. Acid mine drainage can continue for decades or centuries after a mine closes
unless costly reclamation projects are done.

Mine wastes
Mine wastes are generated in huge quantities and must be disposed of. The wastes are flammable and
prone to spontaneous combustion. They also contain heavy metals capable of leaching out into local
rivers, streams and groundwater. Coal washing generates similar waste problems.

REFERENCES:

http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/Global/new-zealand/report/2007/1/enviro-impacts-of-
coal.pdf

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/coal/Coal-mining-impacts/

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=coal_environment

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