Underground coal fires – A global post-mining catastrophe

Uncontrolled coal fires are a universal coal mining and post-mining concern. Efforts to extinguish these fires are often unsuccessful and these fires can result in major catastrophes such as the abandonment of the town of Centralia Pennsylvania in the U.S. and displacement of many thousands of villagers in India. The physical threat of these fires, often a result of coal mining, is a serious issue that has taken the lives of people in the U.S., Asia, and Africa. However, an equally though more insidious issue is the long-term health impacts of the emissions of these uncontrolled coal fires. Recent studies in the Jharia region of India has shown that villagers living about one mile from active coal fires reported twice as many health concerns as villagers living about five miles away. Yet, there are many villages in this region and elsewhere where people are living in immediate proximity to these fires. Studies of the gases emitted from these fires and condensates formed from the escaping gases document the mobilization of potentially toxic gases such as benzene, xylene, toluene, methane, carbon monoxide and elements such as As, Se, Hg, F, Pb, Sb. An SEM/EDX study of a small (30mm X 20mm) piece of condensate collected from an active underground coal fire just meters from a village revealed several generations of deposition with at least 30 phases containing ammonia, B, F, Al, Si, S, Cl, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Mo, Cd, I, Ba, Pb, and Bi. Clearly, more attention should be paid to this post mining catastrophe to minimize the health problems and deaths resulting from these uncontrolled coal fires.