Gaping, uncovered mines spew toxic dust all over surrounding areas: 'It is unfortunately worse ... than we thought'

Burning coal is not only a vast source of pollution — the mining process has all kinds of nasty side effects, too.  

One of those is that coal dust ends up all over the place and severely clogs nearby ecosystems. An international team of researchers has found that the impacts, such as harming trees' ability to clean the air, are worse than previously thought. 

What's happening?

A common type of coal extraction, called open-cast or open-pit mining, involves digging a wide pit right at the Earth's surface to access top-layer coal deposits. The thing is, this gaping mine is left uncovered, and coal dust containing aluminum, silica, and iron deposits is spewed all over the surrounding area. 

A team of researchers from the University of Southampton, England, and the National Institute of Technology in Rourkela, India, studied what this dust does to forests in Eastern India, where huge open-pit coal mines are located. 

Using satellite images and hundreds of leaf samples, they traced the toxic dust up to 30 kilometers away from the mines, with the heaviest concentration along transportation routes to and from the mines.

Why are the dust findings important?

The researchers discovered that once the dust found its way onto a tree, the plant became less productive and less healthy due to the dust blocking its light and clogging up its leaves. 

Plus, this dust being out and about in the open air is bad news for humans. As a study published in the Environmental Research journal — and shared by Science Direct — detailed, inhaling it can cause real trouble in our lungs. Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, developmental delays, and cancer are among the associated concerns after inhaling coal dust.

Healthy trees can usually exchange planet-heating carbon for oxygen, making the air we breathe cleaner and the Earth a bit cooler all at once. For forests near open-pit coal mines, though, the future might not be so bright. 

"We knew this was the case, but we have learned that it is unfortunately worse — and more far spread — than we thought," Jadu Dash, professor of remote sensing at the University of Southampton, said. 

The team's full findings are published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 

What's being done to help forests near coal mines?

The researchers believe their study offers a jumping-off point for better environmental management going forward, and it proves why more research is needed to truly know how harmful coal dust is to its surroundings. 

Meanwhile, coal mines are closing around the world, with many being converted into profitable clean energy hubs.
On an individual level, choosing to support companies that are working to move away from polluting energies like coal and toward a cleaner future can go a long way. Changing the kind of energy that powers your life helps too.

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