Epa environmental protection agency epa developed this background document to illustrate the human health and environmental damages caused by management of wastes from mining i. This site is like a library, you could find million book here by using search box in the header. Due to the decline of jobs related to coal mining a study found that approximately one american suffers a premature death from coal pollution for every job remaining in coal mining. Environmental impacts of coal mining and coal utilization in. The major potential environmental impacts associated with mining and associated mineral processing operations are related to erosionprone landscapes, soil and water quality, and air quality. Mining engineers journal 8 june 2008 mitigating environmental and social impacts of coal mining in india dr.
In response to negative land effects of coal mining and the abundance of abandoned mines in the. Abstract coal mining generates a number of significant environmental impacts. In this way, coal mining has multidimensional impacts on the environment both directly or indirectly. Human health and environmental impacts of coal combustion and. Environmental impact of coal mining and coal seam gas. Environmental impact an overview sciencedirect topics. Effects of mining on the environment and human health. The environmental impact of the coal industry includes issues such as land use, waste. In roomandpillar mines, columns of coal are left to support the ground above during the initial mining process, then they are often taken out and. Key environmental and social impacts environmental and social impacts of mining have been welldocumented and an ample. Coal mining coal mining causes extensive degradation to natural ecosystems such. These mining operations remove the soil and rock above coal deposits, or seams.
It outlines the contemporary challenges by briefly describing the origins of coal mining, its rapid growth from the 1880s during the industrial revolution, its severe contraction. While underground mining, which allows coal companies to extract deeper deposits of coal, is viewed as less destructive than strip mining, the effects of mining widespread damage to the environment. In addition, the legacy of mining has left thousands of sites in africa contaminated by mining and associated mine dumps such as tailings and slag material. On the unstable earth, the unresting mankind constantly uses a variety of resources for. It summarizes the results of eight local studies conducted from 20 to 2016 by members of vietnam sustainable energy alliance vsea. Coal occurrence, exploitation, processing, and utilization have strong impact both on human health and the environment. Pdf environmental impacts of coal mining and coal utilization in. Coal starts as peat, or sections of partially decomposed organic matter that accumulate on the earths surface. Synthesis report on socioenvironmental impacts of coal and. Th e pr esent wor k is an attempt to bring into focus the impact of coal minin g on the. In australia, the discharge of produced water from coal mining and related activities is regulated by the state environment agency through a pollution licence. Coal is an abundant fuel source that is relatively inexpensive to produce and convert to useful energy.
Read online the environmental impacts of coal book pdf free download link book now. This report shows the impacts of coal mining and coal based electricity generation on the vietnamese society and environment. The primary impacts arise from mining, particularly underground mining, largely because south african coal mines are relatively shallow. The environmental impacts of coal a toxic industry coal is the dirtiest of all fuels.
Environmental impact of the coal industry wikipedia. As mentioned previously, mining activities can harm the environment in several ways. This results from its composition and environment of occurrence. Although, the presence of carbon, hydrogen and sulfur in coal facilitates the energy generation in coal combustion, some pollutants including cox, sox, nox, particulate matter pm and heavy metals are accumulated in air and water and lead to severe environmental and health impacts as a. The environmental impacts arising from coal mining activities are fundamentally attributable to the exposure of reduced earth materials. Climate change is coals most serious, longterm, global impact. Environment and social issues related to coal mining. Management of environmental impacts from coal mining in the upper olifants river catchment as a function of age and scale philip hobbs, suzan h. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it.
In africa, ghana is the second largest gold producer, contributing to about 5. Pdf coal mining adversely affects the ecosystem as a whole. When coal is compared to solar photovoltaic generation, the latter could save 51,999 american lives per year if solar were to replace coal generation in the u. Environmental and health implications of coal mining at. Environmental impacts of coal mining and associated wastes. Since coal remains the single biggest contributor to greenhouse gases worldwide, methods for minimising environmental impacts of coal combustion are. Coal mining, the process of extracting coal from the ground, is a common economic activity around the world. There is a need for more indepth case studies to clarify the biogeochemical and ecological footprint and environmental sustainability of mining.
Some of these can be quantified by estimates, others are difficult to estimate. To these coal mine owners it was more important to keep the costs of their own energy inputs low, than to profit from coal mining itself4. Chemically, coal is mostly carbon, which, when burned, reacts with oxygen in the air to produce carbon dioxide, a heattrapping gas. Human health and environmental damages from mining and. Steps are taken in modern mining operations to minimise impacts on all aspects of the environment.
The primary impacts arise from mining, particularly underground mining, largely because south african coal mines are. Mining companies are also making efforts to reduce the environmental and social impacts of mining and minimize the footprint of their activities throughout the mining cycle, including planning for. Mineral exploitation contributes significantly to economic growth and development in most world economies. The environmental impacts of coal pdf book manual free download.
Pdf impact of coal mining on environment researchgate. However, the biggest impact arises from the combustion of coal domestically. Coal is an important source of energy around the worldapproximately 41% of the worlds electricity is generated from outdoor coal combustion nataly echevarria huaman and xiu, jun. Environmental and other effects of mining and transport ccc281. The paper discusses the current coal consumption in the uk together with environmental impacts of coalmining, coal processing and coal utilisation for power. Due to its synoptic coverage and repetitive data acquisition capabilities, remote sensing has been extensively used to monitor effects of surface mining. What is the environmental impact of the coal industry. Environmental hazards coal mining mining, including surface, underground, and openpit operations, has been an important economic activity in pennsylvania since before the 1860s and was instrumental in the commonwealths development and continues to be a major industry. Assessing the environmental impacts of coal mining using. Result of the petrography analysis of the study area demonstrates high silica content and the presence of some elements in the mine. Environmental impacts of coal mining and coal utilization in the uk. Coal washing gives rises to large waste dumps, which may ignite spontaneously and cause air pollution. Environmental and other effects of mining and transport. The report summarises the relevant issues in the major coal producing nations.
The impact of coal mining on the environment and community quality of life. Assessing the environmental impacts of coal mining using analytical hierarchy process. When released into the atmosphere, carbon dioxide works like a blanket, warming the earth above normal limits. Coal mining played a supportive role as provider of energy to the growing gold mining industry and indeed, many collieries were historically and are today owned by gold mining companies. The majority of proposed mining projects involve the extraction of ore deposits such as copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum, and platinum.
However, producing and using coal affects the environment. Surface mines sometimes called strip mines were the source of about 63% of the coal mined in the united states in 2018. State of the art analytical techniques and modelling software should be used to study emissions, transport. In africa, because of economic pressures and slower evolution of environmental awareness, local communities have been particularly exposed to the detrimental effects of contamination arising from mining. Significant environmental impacts may result from the addition to the environment of various substances from coal combustion, nuclear plant or fuel cycle. Due to its high energy generation potential, coal is widely used in power generation in different countries. Environmental impact is defined as any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organizations activities, products, or services.
The guidebook for evaluating mining project eias reflects many years of experience evaluating the environmental impact assessments eias for proposed mining projects around the world. This case study focuses on the costs of the environmental and social effects of coal mining in. What is the environmental impact of mining and burning coal. Water pollution arises from some abandoned mines and waste dumps. Unrefined materials are released when mineral deposits are exposed on the surface through mining. These disrupt ecosystems and endanger human health. Environmental impacts of coal mining and coal utilization in the uk article pdf available in acta montanistica slovaca 152 october 2010 with 2,851 reads how we measure reads. The paper discusses the current coal consumption in the uk together with environmental impacts of coal. The largest surface mines in the united states are in wyoming.
Apr 25, 2017 the environmental impact of the operation of the coal industry is gigantic if not executed according to environmental standards. However, indoor coal combustion is only used for domestic energy purposes. The time to plan for subsidence impacts is well before mining begins, not after surface effects are noticed. This licence sets the discharge limits for a range of analytes to protect the. The social and environmental consequences of coal mining in. Environmental impacts of coal mining and coal utilization in the uk deniz mamurekli1 coal has remained the main source of energy in the uk from 1700 to the end of 1970s, and it still plays an important role in the power generation. The impact of coal mining on the environment and community.
Coal mining is one of the core industries that contribute to the economic development of a country but deteriorate theenvironment. Being the primary source of energy coal has becomeessential to meet the energy demand of a country. Monitoring environmental impacts of surface coal mining. Environmental impact of coal mining on water regime and its. Coal mining requires large areas of land to be temporarily disturbed. Coal mining imposes many external costs on its surroundings and the people who live in it. Air quality is adversely affected by mining operations. By carefully preplanning projects, implementing pollution control measures, monitoring the effects of mining and rehabilitating mined areas, the coal industry minimises the. This paper provides an exposition on the environmental. Environmental hazards coal mining 2018 state hazard. These potential impacts are recognized and addressed in current mining operations as well as in some former mining operations by reclaiming areas of.
It isexcavated by both opencast and underground mining methods andaffects the environment, especially water resources, by discharginghuge amounts of mine water. Overview of mining and its impacts1 proposed mining projects vary according to the type of metals or materials to be extracted from the earth. Human health and environmental impacts of coal combustion. From mining to coal cleaning, from transportation to electricity generation to disposal, coal releases numerous toxic pollutants into the air, water and land. Mining and burning coal for fuel is harmful to the environment. Management of environmental impacts from coal mining in the.
The mining sector in ghana consists of both smallscale and largescale mining, each of which has varying environmental impacts. Pdf environmental and social impacts of mining and their. Proper environment impact assessment of coal mining is very important and here we take some issues which should be considered and some mitigation measures are discussed. Jul 21, 2017 the extraction of coal and coal seam gas csg will generate produced water that, if not adequately treated, will pollute surface and groundwater systems. Gurdeep singh abstract coal is the only natural resource and fossil fuel available in abundance in india.
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