POTENTIAL HEALTH IMPACTS OF SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUSTED COAL

Coal mining brings large volumes of coal and carbonaceous-rich sediments into contact with oxygen and moisture. The heat generated by the oxidation of the carbon and associated sulfide minerals can generate temperatures high enough for the coal to spontaneously ignite. The resulting fires release large volumes of noxious fumes and mobilize potentially hazardous elements that may impact the health of coal miners and people living in nearby communities. Although there are few published reports of health problems caused by these emissions, the potential for such problems can be significant. In India, large numbers of people have been displaced from their homes, in part because of health problems caused by emissions from burning coal beds. Detailed studies of the minerals forming around vents from fires burning for several years on coal waste banks (also known as gob piles and culm banks) in the Appalachian region and elsewhere, have shown that the most common elements in the condensates are sulfur, selenium, arsenic, and fluorine; all elements known to cause health problems. Other heavy elements found in the condensate minerals are mercury, lead, bismuth, tin, copper, and germanium. Fires caused by spontaneously combusted coal are so pervasive, and the health consequences of hazardous element exposure so serious, that it would be prudent to determine the characteristics of the condensates at coal fires proximal to mine workers and villages.