{"id":1674,"date":"2011-12-28T19:13:56","date_gmt":"2011-12-29T00:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/epcamr.org\/home\/?page_id=1674"},"modified":"2024-02-13T16:08:31","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T21:08:31","slug":"legacy-of-past-mining-practices","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/epcamr.org\/home\/content\/reference-materials\/historical-significance\/legacy-of-past-mining-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Legacy of Past Mining Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Problems and Solutions Graphic from the 2005 Times Shamrock Newspapers Investigation Series: Deep Trouble by Jessica D. Matthews<\/p><\/div>\n

Coal has been mined in Pennsylvania since the late 1700s. The impact of this resource extraction is widespread and has many facets.\u00a0 Aside from the global\u00a0effects of rising\u00a0greenhouse gases and air pollution caused by fossil\u00a0fuels, such\u00a0as coal,\u00a0Coal Region landscapes have been transformed into virtual wastelands.<\/span><\/p>\n

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‘Moonscapes and Bleeding\u00a0Streams’<\/span><\/h1>\n
Those who venture too close to open mines take their safety into their own hands. Homes built over abandoned underground mines are at extreme risk of collapsing into the ground. Streams, void of aquatic life, are smothered with\u00a0a sludge made of heavy metals and coal silt.<\/span><\/div>\n

Abandoned Mine Lands<\/span><\/h3>\n
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  • 280,000 acres – 3 times the size of Philadelphia<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Pennsylvania has 1\/3 of the national problem across the country<\/span><\/li>\n
  • It will take an estimate of $15 billion to clean it all up<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Impacts ecological balance of the environment – especially water quality<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Many different health and safety hazards<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


    \nAbandoned Mine Drainage<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Forms when surface water comes in contact with coal material, pyrites, and air<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Contains iron, sulfates, manganese, and\/or\u00a0aluminum<\/span><\/li>\n
    • pH levels sometimes below 3 (very acidic)<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Impacts over 5,000 miles of streams in Pennsylvania<\/span><\/li>\n
    • AMD is Pennsylvania’s largest non-point source water pollutant<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


      \nHighwalls &<\/span><\/span> Water-filled Pits<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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      • Highwalls are cliff-like banks at strip mines<\/span>\n
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        • Can be hundreds of feet high<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Deaths and injuries from falling<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • Water-filled pits are found at the base of highwalls<\/span>\n
            \n
          • Sometimes popular recreation spots<\/span><\/li>\n
          • Drownings occur<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


            \nSubsidence<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Moving, shifting, cracking, or sinking of the earth<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Wooden support structures or pillars in underground mines decay and collapse<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Changes in mine pool levels can be another cause<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Buildings are also affected by subsidence<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Water supplies and other utilities may be affected or damaged<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


              \nOpen shafts<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                \n
              • Surface openings to underground mines<\/span><\/li>\n
              • May be camouflaged by overgrown brush or covered in ice<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Can be hundreds of feet deep<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Usually contain water<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Falls, entrapment, and drownings can occur<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Often leak mine gases into nearby areas<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


                \nRefuse Piles<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Material left over after coal mining and processing<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Contain coal and rock<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Runoff from piles causes surface mine drainage<\/span><\/li>\n
                • One pile can cover many acres<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Some piles take on the formation of a mountain range<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Destroy natural landscape and create wastelands<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Black material soaks up heat and radiates it back into the atmosphere<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


                  \nMine <\/span><\/span>Fires<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • Refuse piles or exposed coal seams catch fire<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • Garbage or brush is dumped in these abandoned areas illegally and set on fire<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • Pennsylvania has 40-50 deep mine fires burning statewide at any given time<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • The oldest mine fire started\u00a0in 1912 and is still burning today near Wilkes-Barre<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • Dangerous gases are released and can seep into homes (i.e. carbon monoxide)<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • Ground subsidence once underground mine pillars burn<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n