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Description The existence of mining probably does not occur to many people unless presented with a picture of a mine, or the occasional news of a collapse. The mining industry is of course the reason we have so much coal and metals available. 55 percent of the power in the US is produced from burning coal. The unfortunate aspect of coal is how toxic it can be. Despite recent pushes to provide a 'clean' source of coal, the entire process of extraction, delivery and usage is detrimental to human and environmental health. Coal, extracted in volume, is taken from the ground via open pit mining and/or by a mountaintop removal process. Nearby streams are contaminated by metals that typically stay covered underground. Artificial dams used to contain the tailings are on private property, and thereby not subject to stringent design regulations. They occasionally burst in heavy rains, washing out towns and killing people by the dozens. Coal seams sometimes ignite, causing fumes to emit from the ground in random places. These underground fires will burn for decades. Metal ore extraction cause many of the same problems. The metal is separated from the ore by various means. The most toxic is extraction using a cyanide leach pond. The ore is dissolved in by the cyanide, leaving the metal for human use. Useless other heavy metals and cyanide seeps into the ground and renders the local aquifer useless or dangerous to drink and rain can flood the cyanide into nearby watersheds. The cyanide remains long after the mining company has severed its control of the land and leaves an expensive bill in the mail for taxpayers. Additional information can also be found on the Toxic Waste Page. Helpful Websites Helpful Reports
Environmental Impacts of Mining The Last American Dinosaur: the 1872 Mining Law Potential Environmental Impacts of Hardrock Mining Cradle to Grave: The Environmental Impacts from Coal Social and Cultural Effects of Mountaintop Removal (OVEC) From Pick and Shovel to Mountaintop Removal Mountaintop Removal Mining Stealing Appalacia Misuse of Science in Policymaking regarding Mountaintop Removal The
Social Cost of Coal Helpful Books
"Environmental Effects of Mining" by Ripley et al. "Metal Mining and the Environment" by Fox et al. "When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution" by Davis "Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution" by Markowitz "Golden Dreams, Poisened Streams" by Da Rosa and Lyon "Mining the Earth" by Young (Worldwatch) "Mineral Resources and Sustainability: Challenges for Earth Scientists" (National Academies)
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