Coal Industry Plagues Appalachian Communities with Health Hazards

Interview with Matthew Louis-Rosenberg, Coal River Mountain Watch activist, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

While the pace of civil disobedience actions against the mining of coal are picking up in Appalachia, they are also spreading to parts of the country where coal is burned in power plants. One action on Nov. 30 attempted to stop a new coal-fired plant in South Carolina from opening. Coal creates huge environmental and public health hazards both at the sites of extraction and combustion, producing severe water and air pollution.

A little-known fact is that one of the by-products of coal production is billions of gallons of toxic coal slurry, which is injected into abandoned underground mine sites deep inside Appalachian mountains. This has led to contamination of residents' well water and scores of serious illnesses and deaths. While no cause and effect relationship has been scientifically established, it's clear that heavy metals in drinking water damage human health.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Mat Louis-Rosenberg, who works on the coal Sludge Safety Project sponsored by Coal River Mountain Watch, a community organization in West Virginia that works to stop mountaintop removal mining. The problem of coal sludge occurs with all types of mining and there are currently 113 slurry impoundments in the state. The activist says local residents are learning to speak out in favor of legislation to clean up the mining process. Here Louis-Rosenberg talks about the dangerous conditions in coal field communities, and what coal companies must do to rectify the problem.

Related links:

* "Citizens Block Shipment of Generator to Cliffside Coal Plant," www.beyondtalk.net, Nov. 30, 2009
* MountainKeeper.org at www.mountainkeeper.org

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"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: www.btlonline.org
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