Impacts of surface mine valley fills on headwater floods in eastern Kentucky

Phillips, Jonathan D.

doi:10.1007/s00254-003-0883-1

Cited by 34 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…37 In contrast, the saline tributaries with high SO 4 had lower δ 34 S SO4 (−2 to +2‰), originated from oxidation of pyrite from within the bedrock, which typically has a similar low δ 34 S range. 37 These results are also consistent with an elevated SO 4 and an apparent δ 34 S end member of ∼1‰ measured in stream waters of Yellow Creek, West Virginia, also associated with coal mining. 36 Impact on the Mud River.…”

Section: Environmental Science and Technologysupporting

confidence: 79%

“…21 The Figure 3). In contrast, the bulk salt concentrations of ions such as Ca and SO 4 were indistinguishable in tributaries from active and reclaimed MTM areas. This is consistent with the uniformly high soluble salt concentrations found in leachates from both the Allegheny and Kanawha Formations (Table 1).…”

Section: Environmental Science and Technologymentioning

confidence: 72%

“…2−18 Carbonate mineral dissolution within the VF buffers the acidity that is generated from the oxidation of pyrite, and consequently, alkaline (pH typically >7) and saline (TDS > 1500 mg/L) effluents are generated in VF outflows. The VF effluents are characterized by high concentrations of Ca, Mg, Sr, SO 4 , and HCO 3 . 15−17 The VF effluents also contain elevated concentrations of trace elements such as Se, As, and Mn that pose serious ecological risks to receiving streams, including toxic effects observed in fish in local watersheds.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Isotopic Imprints of Mountaintop Mining Contaminants

Vengosh

Lindberg

Merola

et al. 2013

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Mountaintop mining (MTM) is the primary procedure for surface coal exploration within the central Appalachian region of the eastern United States, and it is known to contaminate streams in local watersheds. In this study, we measured the chemical and isotopic compositions of water samples from MTM-impacted tributaries and streams in the Mud River watershed in West Virginia. We systematically document the isotopic compositions of three major constituents: sulfur isotopes in sulfate (δ 34 S SO4 ), carbon isotopes in dissolved inorganic carbon (δ 13 C DIC ), and strontium isotopes ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr). The data show that δ 34 S SO4 , δ 13 C DIC , Sr/Ca, and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr measured in saline-and selenium-rich MTM impacted tributaries are distinguishable from those of the surface water upstream of mining impacts. These tracers can therefore be used to delineate and quantify the impact of MTM in watersheds. High Sr/Ca and low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr characterize tributaries that originated from active MTM areas, while tributaries from reclaimed MTM areas had low Sr/Ca and high 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. Leaching experiments of rocks from the watershed show that pyrite oxidation and carbonate dissolution control the solute chemistry with distinct 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios characterizing different rock sources. We propose that MTM operations that access the deeper Kanawha Formation generate residual mined rocks in valley fills from which effluents with distinctive 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and Sr/Ca imprints affect the quality of the Appalachian watersheds.

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Section: Environmental Science and Technologysupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Environmental Science and Technologymentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Isotopic Imprints of Mountaintop Mining Contaminants

Vengosh

Lindberg

Merola

et al. 2013

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…For example, the extirpation of a taxonomic order of macroinvertebrates (i.e., mayflies [Ephemeroptera]) has been reported in mining-affected streams (Pond et al, 2008;Palmer et al, 2010;Pond, in press). Such biological changes have been attributed to changes in water quality, water quantity, and physical habitat in streams draining mining operations in Appalachia (Phillips, 2004; Hartman et al, Figure 2. Total age-adjusted cancer mortality, ecological integrity, and coal mining intensity in West Virginia, USA: a total cancer, b stream condition index (SCI), c index of coal mining (CMI).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some coal-mediated effects on benthic macroinvertebrates may be linked to human cancer mortality, but others may not. For example, it is improbable that hydrological effects of coal surface-mining (Phillips, 2004;Negley and Eshleman, 2006) could influence human health, but benthic macroinvertebrate communities clearly respond to Figure 3. Spatial distribution of cancer types: a digestive; b breast (female), c genital (female), d genital (male), e oral, f respiratory, g urinary, h ''other'' cancer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Integrity of Streams Related to Human Cancer Mortality Rates

Hitt

Hendryx

2010

EcoHealth

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Assessments of ecological integrity have become commonplace for biological conservation, but their role for public health analysis remains largely unexplored. We tested the prediction that the ecological integrity of streams would provide an indicator of human cancer mortality rates in West Virginia, USA. We characterized ecological integrity using an index of benthic macroinvertebrate community structure (West Virginia Stream Condition Index, SCI) and quantified human cancer mortality rates using county-level data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Regression and spatial analyses revealed significant associations between ecological integrity and public health. SCI was negatively related to age-adjusted total cancer mortality per 100,000 people. Respiratory, digestive, urinary, and breast cancer rates increased with ecological disintegrity, but genital and oral cancer rates did not. Smoking, poverty, and urbanization were significantly related to total cancer mortality, but did not explain the observed relationships between ecological integrity and cancer. Coal mining was significantly associated with ecological disintegrity and higher cancer mortality.Spatial analyses also revealed cancer clusters that corresponded to areas of high coal mining intensity. Our results demonstrated significant relationships between ecological integrity and human cancer mortality in West Virginia, and suggested important effects of coal mining on ecological communities and public health.Assessments of ecological integrity therefore may contribute not only to monitoring goals for aquatic life, but also may provide valuable insights for human health and safety.

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Waste dump erosional landform stability – a critical issue for mountain mining

Martín‐Moreno

Duque

Ibarra

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Mining is the largest producer of solid wastes which, when released to land or into waterways, can cause harmful environmental impacts. This is mostly due to fluvial erosion, which is highly increased in mountain areas, due to abrupt slopes. We have analysed this situation at a mountain watershed (192 ha), where steep mined sites and their waste dumps are the main source of sediment in a Natural Park. This problem was tackled by building gabion check dams downstream from the mined sites. We used the DEM of Differences (DoD) method to quantify erosion and sediment yield from three waste dumps (5 ha). Their topography and substrate properties were analysed to understand the erosion problem. The sediment trapped by the check dams was quantified by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The rainfall characteristics triggering an episode that filled the check dams with sediment in the winter 2009–2010, were studied to confirm whether it was a case of extreme precipitation conditions. The waste dumps sediment yield (353 ± 95 Mg ha−1 yr−1) suggests severe landform instability. Analysis of topographic and substrate properties confirmed long, steep slopes combined with highly erodible materials. The check dams proved to be inefficient in controlling sediment loads, as they had only functioned for four years of 31 of existence, having trapped 13 000 ± 660 m3 of sediment, whereas we estimated that the waste dumps have yielded approximately three times more sediment for the same period. Rainfall analyses showed that neither intense nor extreme conditions (return period of 25 to 35 years) triggered the mobilization of 37 ± 2 Mg ha−1 in a month. This study highlights the fact that mining operations in similar mountainous settings, with equivalent waste dump construction and reclamation practices, are currently unfeasible. We conclude that landform stability cannot be achieved at this site without landform changes. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Impacts of surface mine valley fills on headwater floods in eastern Kentucky

Cited by 34 publications

References 28 publications

Isotopic Imprints of Mountaintop Mining Contaminants

Isotopic Imprints of Mountaintop Mining Contaminants

Ecological Integrity of Streams Related to Human Cancer Mortality Rates

Waste dump erosional landform stability – a critical issue for mountain mining

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