Educational Materials

Coal is a prime source of pollution throughout its lifecycle of production, burning, and disposal. For an excellent overview of this, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/downloads/coalreport.pdf. There are also many good references at the end of this document, some of which are included here.
 
Coal Production
 
The State of Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) purchases all of its call from two companies that derive much of their coal from mountaintop removal meeting. This method of mining leaves the mountains looking like moonscapes and has destroyed thousands of mountain watersheds by dumping wastes in the valleys. See:
  1. http://www.earthjustice.org/our_work/campaigns/stop-mountaintop-removal.html
  2. www.ilovemountains.org
  3. http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/downloads/2009.10.13_mtr_econstudies_whitepaper.pdf
  4. http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/downloads/2009.10_synapse_sc_mtr_econ_report.pdf
    Coal Burning
     
    The burning of coal has some of the highest emission rates of many pollutants. These include nitrogen oxides, sulfer dioxide, particulate matter, and toxics, especially mercury.
     
    Smog and particulates: Produced through nitrogen oxides, smog is a factor in respiratory diseases such as asthma. Fine particulate matter is also causes serious respiratory difficulties.
    1. U.S. EPA, “NOx: How Nitrogen Oxides Affect the Way We Live and Breathe,” September 1998.
    2. American Lung Association, “State of the Air: 2006.”
    3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Ozone and Your Health,” September 1999.

    Acid Rain: Chemical interactions in the atmosphere with sulfur dioxide causes the water to be come more acidic. This has made many lakes in the eastern mountains sterile, devoid of most life. See  http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/ for an overview of acid rain.

    Mercury (and other toxic chemicals):  Coal-fired power plants are one of the largest sources of mercury contamination, through air deposition after burning.  On average, one in six women of childbearing age has mercury levels in her blood high enough to put her baby at risk. Moreover, in 2004, forty-seven U.S. states and territories had mercury fish consumption advisories for at least some of their waters. See:

    1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “EPA to Regulate Mercury and Other Air Toxics Emissions from Coal- and Oil-Fired Power Plants.” December14, 2000.
    2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Methylmercury: Epidemiology Update,” presentation by Kathryn Mahaffey, PhD at the National Forum on Contaminants in Fish, San Diego, CA, January 25-28, 2004.
    3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, “2004 National Listing of Fish Advisories,”September 2005. EPA-823-F-05-004.
    Climate Change: The overwhelming scientific consensus is that climate change is occurring and that fossil fuel burning is contributing at least partially to this.
          Disposal
           
          Containing lead, mercury, and arsenic, 120 million tons of solid waste are created each year from coal burning. Finding safe ways of disposing of this waste is a huge problem. See:
          1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Report to Congress: Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels Volume I,” 1999.
          2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Report to Congress: Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels Volume 2,” 1999, figure 3-5.
          3. National Research Council, “Managing Coal Combustion Residues in Mines,” 2006.
          To get an idea of the problems associated with this disposal, read about the catastrophic break of a retention pond wall at Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) the Kingston Plant in Harriman, Tennessee, December 22, 2008.