Michael Hendryx: Mountaintop removal is a form of surface coal mining. As the name suggests, it literally removes up to 800 feet off the tops of mountains to try to reach coal seams that are not accessible by other mining techniques because the terrain is too steep or the veins are too thin.

Where is mountaintop mining used?

Mountaintop removal is a relatively new type of coal mining that began in Appalachia in the 1970s as an extension of conventional strip mining techniques. Primarily, mountaintop removal is occurring in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.

What is mountaintop removal mining and why is it so controversial?

The most controversial mines are known as mountaintop removal mines because coal companies literally remove the tops of mountains with dynamite and earth-moving machines, called draglines, in order to reach coal seams.

Is mountaintop mining good for the environment?

Contaminants from mountaintop removal even poison the drinking water of downstream communities. And this form of mining makes a twofold contribution to climate change: The forests destroyed in the process no longer store carbon, and the burning of the coal that's mined releases carbon into the atmosphere.

How does mountaintop removal affect the local community?

Toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, selenium, and arsenic leach into local water supplies, poisoning drinking water. This destructive practice, known as mountaintop-removal mining, sends carcinogenic toxins like silica into the air, affecting communities for miles around.

The Land of Mountaintop Removal

40 related questions found

How does mountaintop removal affect the Appalachian Mountains?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that mountaintop removal “valley fills” are responsible for burying more than 2,000 miles of vital Appalachian headwater streams, and poisoning many more. ... Under the change, the coal industry drastically accelerated mountaintop removal mining, with grave consequences.

What is good about mountaintop removal?

Mountaintop Removal (MTR) is a very effective form of coal mining. ... Since the 1970's, conventional coal mining has been eclipsed by MTR, because it allows coal companies to access coal more effectively and efficiently while reducing the overall number of employed miners.

What is mountaintop removal and what are the problems for the environment with mining with this method?

Mountaintop removal mining devastates the landscape, turning areas that should be lush with forests and wildlife into barren moonscapes. Huge machines, called "draglines," push rock and dirt into nearby streams and valleys, forever burying waterways.

What is mountaintop removal quizlet?

what is mountaintop removal. mountaintop removal is a destructive form of extracting coal in which coal companies blast off hundreds of feet of a mountain ridge top using heavy explosives to assess Ben seems of coal below.

Where does mountaintop removal mining occur?

Mountaintop removal takes place primarily in eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and eastern Tennessee.

How does mountaintop coal removal pose a threat to human health?

Since 2007, peer-reviewed studies by researchers from more than a dozen universities have concluded that mountaintop removal coal mining contributes to significantly higher rates of birth defects, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases among individuals living in the region where it occurs.

What are the economic impacts of mountaintop removal?

Mountaintop removal not only whittles away underground mining jobs, it also creates enormous barriers to economic development and diversification, by making the area less attractive for other industries, due to the pollution of the land, air and water.

Why is mountaintop removal mining beneficial quizlet?

Mountaintop removal lowers the coal companies' overhead cost. It causes less jobs for coal mining, but has increased coal production dramatically.

Why is restoration hard after mountaintop removal?

Why might restoration be hard after mountaintop removal? mountains form over long periods of time and therefore can't be replaced in short amounts of time.

Which of the following best describes the process known as mountain removal?

Mountaintop removal refers to the process of mining at the surface of a mountain top or a mountain ridge. Any trees or plants are first removed, explosives are used to blow apart the earth and reach materials below the surface, and these materials (often coal) are then collected.

How does mountaintop removal pollute the air?

Explosives used during the mountaintop removal mining process are one of the suggested causes of increased particulate matter, a type of air pollution made up of very tiny particles that can easily be inhaled and become lodged in the lungs.

What law increased the use of mountaintop removal?

The two principle laws regulating mountaintop removal's impact on streams are the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and the 1970 Clean Water Act.

What does underground mining mine?

Australia's large and diverse local underground mining industry produces a significant proportion of its coal, gold, nickel, copper, zinc, lead, tin, uranium and diamond exports.

Why is mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia such a problem?

The impacts on communities of blowing up mountains and dumping the rubble into streams are profound. It forces residents to contend with contaminated drinking water, increased flooding, dangerous coal slurry impoundments, and higher rates of cancer and other health issues.

How does mountaintop mining affect biodiversity?

Researchers found that the effects of mountaintop coal mining are even more widespread than previously reported: Streams from heavily mined watersheds harbor 40% fewer species than streams with cleaner water.

How is coal extracted from mountaintop removal mines Dynamite is used?

How is coal extracted from mountaintop removal mines? Dynamite is used to break apart rocks and then draglines are used to remove the broken rock and reach the coal.

How is coal extracted from mountaintop removal mines Brainly?

Answer: Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. This method of coal mining is conducted in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. Explosives are used to remove up to 400 vertical feet (120 m) of mountain to expose underlying coal seams.

Why does mining have such an impact on the environment ?\?

Mining has a large impact on the environment because minerals are contained within the Earth. Earth must be removed in order to extract the minerals. When the minerals are close to the surface, the earth is removed, causing destruction to the shape of the land and the flora and fauna living in that area.

What was one consequence of mining the land by drilling?

There are multiple effects of mining fossil fuels. Drilling and mining practices take a substantial toll on local water sources, biologic life and natural resources through pollution, degradation and direct damage.