The research found that chronic and acute toxicity thresholds for aluminum, copper, lead and manganese, among other metals, as well as acidity levels in streams were exceeded thousands of times from 1985 to 2015 in areas of critical habitat and far removed from where the mines actually are.
“Linear mixed models showed that levels of manganese, sulfate, sulfur, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and zinc increased by 6.73E+01 to 6.87E+05 μg/L and conductivity by 3.30E+06 μS /cm for one percent increase in the mined proportion of the area draining into a monitoring station,” the article reads. “The proportion of a drainage area that was mined also increased the likelihood that chronic thresholds for copper, lead, and zinc required to sustain aquatic life were exceeded.”
According to the authors, previous research had mistakenly considered that the impacts of mountaintop removal mining were contained to the immediate area around mines.
“We have been watching mountaintop removal mining expand across the Appalachian landscape for years using satellite imagery,” said Christian Thomas, coauthor of the paper and geospatial engineer with SkyTruth. “By combining our imagery with water-quality data, we have finally revealed how profoundly this activity harms sensitive aquatic species.”
Thomas’ coauthor, Mike Evans, who is a senior conservation data scientist at Defenders of Wildlife’s Center for Conservation Innovation, explained that Central Appalachia is a highly...
Read Full Story: https://www.mining.com/new-study-shows-real-impact-of-mountaintop-mining-on-endangered-species/
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