“...In Kentucky, alone, there are 293 MTR [mountain
top removal ] sites, over 1,400 miles of
streams damaged or destroyed, and 2,500 miles of streams
polluted. Valley fill and other surface mining practices
associated with MTR bury headwater streams and contaminate
surface and groundwater with carcinogensand heavy metals
and are associated with reports of cancer clusters,
a finding that requires further study.”
—
“After coal is mined, it is washed in a mixture
of chemicals to reduce impurities that include clay,
non-carbonaceous rock, and heavy metals to prepare for
use in combustion. Coal slurry is the byproduct of these
coal refining plants. In West Virginia, there are currently
over 110 billion gallons of coal slurry permitted for
126 impoundments. Between 1972 and 2008, there were
53 publicized coal slurry spills in the Appalachian
region, one of the largest of which was a 309 million
gallon spill that occurred in Martin County, KY in 2000.
Of the known chemicals used and generated in processing
coal, 19 are known cancer-causing agents, 24 are linked
to lung and heart damage, and several remain untested
as to their health effects.”
—
“ CCW [coal combustion waste] or fly ash—composed
of products of combustion and other solid waste—contains
toxic chemicals and heavy metals; pollutants known to
cause cancer, birth defects, reproductive disorders,
neurological damage, learning disabilities, kidney disease,
and diabetes. A vast majority of the over 1,300 CCW
impoundment ponds in the United States are poorly constructed,
increasing the risk that waste may leach into groundwater
supplies or nearby bodies of water. Under the conditions
present in fly ash ponds, contaminants, particularly
arsenic, antimony, and selenium (all of which can have
serious human health impacts), may readily leach or
migrate into the water supplied for household and agricultural
use.”
—
“ Spath and colleagues found that these emissions
are small in comparison to the air emissions. However,
amore recent study performed by Koornneef and colleagues
using up-to-date data on emissions and impacts, found
that emissions and seepage of toxins and heavy metals
into fresh and marine water were significant. Elevated
levels of arsenic in drinking water have been found
in coal mining areas, along with ground water contamination
consistent with coal mining activity in areas near coal
mining facilities. In one study of drinking water in
four counties in West Virginia, heavy metal concentrations
(thallium, selenium, cadmium, beryllium, barium, antimony,
lead, and arsenic) exceeded drinking water standards
in one fourth of the households. This mounting evidence
indicates thatmore complete coverage ofwater sampling
is needed throughout coal-field regions.”
—
“ The next stage in the life cycle of coal is
combustion to generate energy. Here we focus on coalfired
electricity-generating plants. The by-products of coal
combustion include CO2, methane, particulates
and oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulfur, mercury, and
a wide range of carcinogenic chemicals and heavy metals.”
—
“ Storing compressed and liquefied CO2
underground can acidify saline aquifers (akin to ocean
acidification) and leach heavy metals, such as arsenic
and lead, into ground water.”
—
Still these figures do not represent the full societal
and environmental burden of coal. In quantifying the
damages, we have omitted the impacts of toxic chemicals
and heavy metals on ecological systems and diverse plants
and animals; some ill-health endpoints (morbidity) aside
from mortality related to air pollutants released through
coal combustion that are still not captured; the direct
risks and hazards posed by sludge, slurry, and CCW impoundments;
the full contributions of nitrogen deposition to eutrophication
of fresh and coastal sea water; the prolonged impacts
of acid rain and acid mine drainage; many of the long-term
impacts on the physical and mental health of those living
in coal-field regions and nearby MTR sites; some of
the health impacts and climate forcing due to increased
tropospheric ozone formation; and the full assessment
of impacts due to an increasingly unstable climate.
The true ecological and health costs of coal are thus
far greater than the numbers suggest. Accounting for
the many external costs over the life cycle for coal-derived
electricity conservatively doubles to triples the price
of coal per kWh of electricity generated.”