Sixteen Tons Part 2: The Environmental and Human Costs of Coal

Part 1

In any discussion of the negative effect of human use of coal, it's almost hard to know where to start. Considering its current prominence in the media, however, let's start with coal's contributions to climate change.

To sum coal's contribution to climate change up quickly: It's the single largest contributor of CO2 to the atmosphere, bar nothing. It comprises 46% of all total carbon dioxide emissions globally and 72% of all global carbon emissions from the electrical generation sector. (Those numbers vary at the nation level- in the US, coal makes up around 25% of all carbon emissions from the electricity sector.) Coal produces nearly twice as much CO2 as natural gas per unit of electricity generated- and natural gas can hardly be called green energy. How's coal so good at emitting C02? That's easy- it's made mostly of carbon. That's the whole reason it's a good energy source.

So coal emits lots of greenhouse gas, that's no surprise. What else does it emit? The big one is sulfur dioxide, SO2. Sulfur dioxide is a weird one- at first it actually forms compounds in the atmosphere that reduce solar heating. Within a very short time, however, they precipitate out of the atmosphere in the form of acid rain, while the CO2 stays behind for centuries. And, just in case you weren't already aware, acid rain is really bad. It can kill crops, cause severe damage to infrastructure, reduce groundwater quality, ruin soil, cause increased weathering and erosion, hurt human health, and damage local ecosystems- especially insects and aquatic life. It's also extremely bad for corals and shell producing organisms. Coal burning also emits arsenic, mercury, lead, nitrogen oxides, particulates, other heavy metals, and radiation. (Living by a coal power plant actually exposes you to more radiation than living near most nuclear power plants!) These emissions have been linked to asthma, heart problems, cancer, pregnancy complications, and many more health conditions.

A coal power plant in Ohio. [Image source]

So burning coal is bad for the environment, but what about mining it? Well, it turns out that's pretty awful stuff too. Methane is often trapped in or near coal seams, and it can be released via mining. Methane is terrifying stuff- it's 86 times stronger than CO2 at trapping heat over a 20 year period and 34 times as effective over a century. About 10 percent of US methane emissions come from coal mining.

Coal mining is also devastating to local water supplies. Coal mines have to regularly be drained of water, and what comes out is nasty, nasty stuff. Coal mine drainage is highly acidic- it's been known to alter the pH of nearby streams to the same level as VINEGAR. That doesn't sound so bad at first- we eat vinegar all the time- but have you ever tried keeping a fish or watering a plant with vinegar? They die right away. Even just having too acidic of a diet is incredibly bad for humans. On top of that, coal mine drainage also conains arsenic, copper, lead, uranium, thorium, and other nasty toxins, and tend to horribly poison the land.

Acidic mine drainage in Ohio. [Image source]

There's also the nasty tendency of coal mines to catch on fire. Some coal seam fires can burn for decades or even centuries. They're not raging blazes, generally, thanks to the limited oxygen, more long, smoldering burns. Burning Mountain in Australia has been burning continuously for 6,000 years, though it's a naturally occurring coal seam fire. A coal seam in Germany has been burning since 1668. There are nearly 200 known coal seam fires in America right now. China has over a hundred major coal seam fires and countless smaller ones. Coal seam fires have tons of nasty environmental effects- they destroy the local ecosystems, cause ground collapse, and emit carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. Coal seam fires are believed to cause around 1% of the total C02 emissions from fossil fuels each year. They're incredibly hard to put out, as well.

The method of mining is also important. Mountain-top removal mining is one of the most environmentally destructive actions taken by humans. Many coal seams in mountains- usually thin ones are inaccessible to normal mining techniques. To access them, the tops of the mountains are completely deforested via clear-cutting, then explosives are used to remove the tops of the mountains. This can remove up to 600 feet in elevation. Mountain top removal mining is horrendous. It contaminates local groundwater and streams. It destroys local ecosystems. It releases huge amounts of airborne dust and toxins. It leaves behind a devastated wasteland- dumping Agent Orange on an area instead might be less destructive.

A coal seam fire in China. [Image source]

As if all those environmental impacts weren't enough, there are coal ash slurry spills. After coal is mined, it neeeds to be washed to reduce impurities. The resultant nasty material is stored along with fly ash slurry, which is ash from coal burning filled with water. Either is horrifyingly bad for people and the environment, and the coal industry tends to store them in immensely toxic ponds and behind poorly constructed dams. Floods of these materials are a constant danger in coal country. In 2008, the Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee had its fly ash slurry containment fail, releasing a volume 101 times that of the Exxon Valdez spill. It damaged dozens of homes and horribly contaminated the local environment, killing countless fish and poisoning rivers and groundwater.

Coal mines have countless hazards. The mines tend to fill up with water, since water runs downhill, and underground is definitely downhill. Coal isn't uniform- the fossilized tree trunks found all throughout coal seams often simply break loose and drop into the mine, often crushing workers. (The round bottom of the tree, visible from below, is known as a kettle bottom.) Cave-ins are common. We can go on listing hazards for a while, but coal mining is a dangerous job. It's better these days than it used to be, thanks to basic safety standards being administered, thankfully.

Some of the aftermath of the Kingston Coal Ash Spill. [Image source]

The biggest threat for coal miners, however, is black lung. Working in a coal mine everyday leads to miners' lungs being coated with coal dust. It's called black lung because it literally turns miners lungs completely black from their original healthy pink. Black lung causes inflammation, fibrosis, lesions, cancer, promotes infections, and in severe cases, even causes necrosis. It's estimated that over 1,500 former employees of coal mines die from black lung in America every single year, and the number is well into the tens of thousands worldwide.

Coal mining also has horrifying effects on the communities it occurs in. It literally poisons them- coal mining towns have some of the lowest average lifespans and more chronic health problems than any other communities in America. When the coal runs out, the coal companies simply leave, taking all the jobs with them, leaving behind communities that are poisoned in every sense of the word and economically destitute.

Next time: The Future of Coal.

---

Bibliography:
Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco
https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=75&t=11
https://endcoal.org/climate-change/
https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/coal-impacts#.WntW7edG2Uk
https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/coal-air-pollution#.WntXiedG2Uk
https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/coal-water-pollution#.WntoCOdG2Uk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalworker%27s_pneumoconiosis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Fossil_Plant_coal_fly_ash_slurry_spill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain