Coal Pollutants

Coal is one of the least expensive, most efficient sources of fuel on Earth. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most polluting. Coal pollutes when it is mined and causes serious health consequences for the miners. It also pollutes when it is burned -- even so-called clean coal.

Mining Coal

• Coal mining creates several immediate problems, including the possibility of cave-ins during mining and subsidence, the surface ground collapsing to fill the mine, years after the mine is abandoned. Additionally, coal contains methane, a toxic greenhouse gas, some of which is released during mining. Mines can also release pyrite for years after a mine is closed as water seeps into and then is released out of the mine, polluting local soil and ground water. Coal can also catch fire during mining or after mining is complete, through combustion caused by lightning or forest fires. In the United States alone more than 100 underground coal fires are burning below nine states, and some of them have been burning for decades, sending unfiltered coal smoke into the atmosphere.

Using Coal

• Once coal is mined, it must be cleaned. Up to half of the coal that comes out of a mine comprises minerals that cannot be burned, such as iron sulfides. Coal ore is typically cleaned with water; this water acidifies and is rendered unsafe for use by people, animals or plants. When the coal burns in plants, it also releases greenhouse gases such as sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide.

Clean Coal

• The coal industry, represented by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, pushed the idea of "clean coal" during the 2008 Presidential Election. However, according to Bryan Walsh, writing for "Time" magazine, the idea of clean coal is largely a myth. The idea put forward by the coal industry was that the carbon emissions from coal could be captured and stored underground. However, according to Walsh, "there's no economical way to capture and sequester carbon emissions from coal, and many experts doubt there ever will be." And even if it could be done, there would still be pollution from coal mining and cleaning.

Health Effects

• Coal mining frequently has a health impact on local communities. In extreme cases, such as accidents, this effect can be profound. On December 22, 2009, 1.1 billion gallons of water and coal ash burst through a dike in the Tennessee Valley, coating several hundred acres, destroying homes and poisoning the local water supply. Even when things go well though, coal is dangerous for miners and the community surrounding the mines. A 2001 Washington State University study of mining communities in West Virginia found a 70% increased risk of kidney disease, a 64 percent increase in the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, including emphysema, and a 30 percent increase in hypertension, among other risks.