Dataset Information

Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Contaminates Snowpack across a Broad Region.

ABSTRACT: Mountaintop removal coal mining is a source of downstream pollution. Here, we show that mountaintop removal coal mining also pollutes ecosystems downwind. We sampled regional snowpack near the end of winter along a transect of sites located 3-60 km downwind of coal mining in the Elk River valley of British Columbia, Canada. Vast quantities of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), a toxic class of organic contaminants, are emitted and transported atmospherically far from emission sources. Summed PAC (ΣPAC) snowpack concentrations ranged from 29-94,866 ng/L. Snowpack ΣPAC loads, which account for variable snowpack depth, ranged from <10 μg/m² at sites >50 km southeast of the mines to >1000 μg/m² at sites in the Elk River valley near mining operations, with one site >15,000 μg/m². Outside of the Elk River valley, snowpack ΣPAC loads exhibited a clear spatial pattern decreasing away from the mines. The compositional fingerprint of this PAC pollution matches closely with Elk River valley coal. Beyond our study region, modeling results suggest a depositional footprint extending across western Canada and the northwestern United States. These findings carry important implications for receiving ecosystems and for communities located close to mountaintop removal coal mines exposed to air pollution elevated in PACs.

SUBMITTER: Cooke CA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11223467 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Contaminates Snowpack across a Broad Region.

Cooke Colin A CA Holland Kira M KM Emmerton Craig A CA Drevnick Paul E PE Criscitiello Alison S AS Newton Brandi B

Environmental science & technology 20240618 26

Mountaintop removal coal mining is a source of downstream pollution. Here, we show that mountaintop removal coal mining also pollutes ecosystems downwind. We sampled regional snowpack near the end of winter along a transect of sites located 3-60 km downwind of coal mining in the Elk River valley of British Columbia, Canada. Vast quantities of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), a toxic class of organic contaminants, are emitted and transported atmospherically far from emission sources. Summed ...[more]

PMID: 38889109

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Project description:Mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) has been a major source of landscape change in the Central Appalachians of the United States (US). Changes in stream hydrology, channel geomorphology and water quality caused by MTR coal mining can lead to severe impairment of stream ecological integrity. The objective of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is to restore and maintain the ecological integrity of the Nation's waters. Sensitive, readily measured indicators of ecosystem structure and function are needed for the assessment of stream ecological integrity. Most CWA assessments rely on structural indicators; inclusion of functional indicators could make these assessments more holistic and effective. The goals of this study were: (1) test the efficacy of selected carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling and microbial structural and functional indicators for assessing MTR coal mining impacts on streams; (2) determine whether indicators respond to impacts in a predictable manner; and (3) determine if functional indicators are less likely to change than are structural indicators in response to stressors associated with MTR coal mining. The structural indicators are water quality and sediment organic matter concentrations, and the functional indicators relate to microbial activity and biofilm production. Seasonal measurements were conducted over the course of a year in streams draining small MTR-impacted and forested watersheds in the Twentymile Creek watershed of West Virginia (WV). Five of the eight structural parameters measured had significant responses, with all means greater in the MTR-impacted streams than in the forested streams. These responses resulted from changes in source or augmentation of the original source of the C and N structural parameters because of MTR coal mining. Nitrate concentration and the stable carbon isotopic ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon were the most effective indicators evaluated in this study. Only three of the fourteen functional indicators measured had significant responses to MTR coal mining, with all means greater in the forested streams than in the MTR-impacted streams. These results suggest that stressors associated with MTR coal mining caused reduction in some aspects of microbial cycling, but resource subsidies may have counterbalanced some of the inhibition leading to no observable change in most of the functional indicators. The detritus base, which is thought to confer functional stability, was likely sustained in the MTR-impacted streams by channel storage and/or leaf litter inputs from their largely intact riparian zones. Overall, our results largely support the hypothesis that certain functional processes are more resistant to stress induced change than structural properties but also suggest the difficulty of identifying suitable functional indicators for ecological integrity assessment.

Project description:BackgroundThe objective of this evaluation is to understand the human health impacts of mountaintop removal (MTR) mining, the major method of coal mining in and around Central Appalachia. MTR mining impacts the air, water, and soil and raises concerns about potential adverse health effects in neighboring communities; exposures associated with MTR mining include particulate matter (PM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, hydrogen sulfide, and other recognized harmful substances.MethodsA systematic review was conducted of published studies of MTR mining and community health, occupational studies of MTR mining, and any available animal and in vitro experimental studies investigating the effects of exposures to MTR-mining-related chemical mixtures. Six databases (Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, Toxline, and Web of Science) were searched with customized terms, and no restrictions on publication year or language, through October 27, 2016. The eligibility criteria included all human population studies and animal models of human health, direct and indirect measures of MTR-mining exposure, any health-related effect or change in physiological response, and any study design type. Risk of bias was assessed for observational and experimental studies using an approach developed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT). To provide context for these health effects, a summary of the exposure literature is included that focuses on describing findings for outdoor air, indoor air, and drinking water.ResultsFrom a literature search capturing 3088 studies, 33 human studies (29 community, four occupational), four experimental studies (two in rat, one in vitro and in mice, one in C. elegans), and 58 MTR mining exposure studies were identified. A number of health findings were reported in observational human studies, including cardiopulmonary effects, mortality, and birth defects. However, concerns for risk of bias were identified, especially with respect to exposure characterization, accounting for confounding variables (such as socioeconomic status), and methods used to assess health outcomes. Typically, exposure was assessed by proximity of residence or hospital to coal mining or production level at the county level. In addition, assessing the consistency of findings was challenging because separate publications likely included overlapping case and comparison groups. For example, 11 studies of mortality were conducted with most reporting higher rates associated with coal mining, but many of these relied on the same national datasets and were unable to consider individual-level contributors to mortality such as poor socioeconomic status or smoking. Two studies of adult rats reported impaired microvascular and cardiac mitochondrial function after intratracheal exposure to PM from MTR-mining sites. Exposures associated with MTR mining included reports of PM levels that sometimes exceeded Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards; higher levels of dust, trace metals, hydrogen sulfide gas; and a report of increased public drinking water violations.DiscussionThis systematic review could not reach conclusions on community health effects of MTR mining because of the strong potential for bias in the current body of human literature. Improved characterization of exposures by future community health studies and further study of the effects of MTR mining chemical mixtures in experimental models will be critical to determining health risks of MTR mining to communities. Without such work, uncertainty will remain regarding the impact of these practices on the health of the people who breathe the air and drink the water affected by MTR mining.

Project description:Environmental laws need sound data to protect species and ecosystems. In 1996, a proliferation of mountaintop removal coal mines in a region home to over 50 federally protected species was approved under the Endangered Species Act. Although this type of mining can degrade terrestrial and aquatic habitats, the available data and tools limited the ability to analyze spatially extensive, aggregate effects of such a program. We used two large, public datasets to quantify the relationship between mountaintop removal coal mining and water quality measures important to the survival of imperiled species at a landscape scale across Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. We combined an annual map of the extent of surface mines in this region from 1985 to 2015 generated from Landsat satellite imagery with public water quality data collected over the same time period from 4,260 monitoring stations within the same area. The water quality data show that chronic and acute thresholds for levels of aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, conductivity, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, pH, selenium, and zinc safe for aquatic life were exceeded thousands of times between 1985 and 2015 in streams that are important to the survival and recovery of species on the Endangered Species List. Linear mixed models showed that levels of manganese, sulfate, sulfur, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and zinc increased by 6.73E+01 to 6.87E+05 μg/L and conductivity by 3.30E+06 μS /cm for one percent increase in the mined proportion of the area draining into a monitoring station. The proportion of a drainage area that was mined also increased the likelihood that chronic thresholds for copper, lead, and zinc required to sustain aquatic life were exceeded. Finally, the proportion of a watershed that was mined was positively related to the likelihood that a waterway would be designated as impaired under the Clean Water Act. Together these results demonstrate that the extent of mountaintop removal mining, which can be derived from public satellite data, is predictive of water quality measures important to imperiled species-effects that must be considered under environmental law. These findings and the public data used in our analyses are pertinent to ongoing re-evaluations of the effects of current mine permitting regulations to the recovery and survival of federally protected species.

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Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Contaminates Snowpack across a Broad Region.

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Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Contaminates Snowpack across a Broad Region.

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