POVERTY AND VARIABLE COAL PRODUCTION IN COUNTIES IN APPALACHIAN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

Environmental impacts of coal mining in Central Appalachia have been heavily scrutinized for potential relationships to poor health yet remain unsubstantiated. Objective: A series of VCOM studies evaluated an array of variables known to impact health, i.e., poverty. Methods: Data were obtained from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC, 2012) and County Rankings and Road Maps (CRRM, 2013) and analyzed using Chi square and ANOVA methods. Results: Top coal producing counties in southwest Virginia experienced changes in coal production and poverty between 1980 and 2008. Lee County had the greatest decrease in poverty between 1980 and 2010 while maintaining a steady level of coal production. Tazewell County reported the largest decrease in coal production (64.7%), yet was second in poverty increase (18.1%) to Wise (31.2%). Changes in values since 1980 were significant (p<0.0001). CRRM data reported Lee County with the highest rate of childhood poverty (36%) compared to other regional counties: Buchanan (31%), Dickenson (27%), Russell (27%), Wise (28%), Scott (25%) and Tazewell (23%). Statistical analysis (ANOVA) of coal production and CRRM dependent variables, i.e., children in poverty and inadequate social support, did not produce significant differences between coal counties and neighboring control counties. Conclusion: The multifactorial nature of poverty demands a more complete assessment of the region's economic, social and environmental factors. Further analysis of additional variables will provide a more detailed representation of the interrelationships between coal production, poverty and health in Southwest Virginia.

Funding source: “This study was sponsored by the Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science (ARIES). ARIES is an industrial affiliates program at Virginia Tech, supported by members that include companies in the energy sector. The research under ARIES is conducted by independent researchers in accordance with the policies on scientific integrity of their institutions. The views, opinions and recommendations expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not imply any endorsement by ARIES employees, other ARIES-affiliated researchers or industrial members. Information about ARIES can be found at http://www.energy.vt.edu/ARIES.”