Coal impact on the environment - Essay Example

They tend to have an effect on the air, water as well as the animals. It also harms the health of the human beings (Finkelman et al 1999; Hill 2010). The burning of coal results in the production of many chemical substances which mainly include carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide. Coal also does not undergo complete combustion and ash is a substance which remains after the combustion of coal. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and it is released in very high amounts by the burning of coal.

This increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the air results in increasing the temperature of the world and promotes the phenomenon of global warming. Sulphur dioxide is also a harmful gas and results in the formation of acid rain. Nitric oxide is also a toxic gas which can result in the formation of an even more unstable substance known as toxic and at the same time nitric oxide also has the capability of causing acid rain (International Labour Office et al 1994). The quantity of ash that is released during the process of mining and burning is extensively high.

It has been analyzed in the United States on an annual basis approximately 100 million tons of ash is produced due to the combustion of almost one billion ton of coal. Forty percent of the ash can be reutilized for forming other products which include cement but a large proportion still remains. The ash has a tendency to accumulate on land as well as it can make its way towards the water reservoirs and contaminate them by forming acids and follow the process of further addition of metals. Ash is disposed off in areas under the land and it is also kept in ‘ponds’ so that it can stay moistened.

If proper regulations are not undertaken underground ash can also enter the underground water. Ponds also need to be checked and regulated because an incident occurred in the year 2008 when there was a spillage of the moistened coal and it resulted in contaminating the water in the river and a group of Tennessee individuals (Hill 2010; Mackenzie et al 2005). The mining of coal also results in the production of radioactive substances; though the quantity of the released substances is not very high.

It has been analyzed that the population residing near the coal plants receive a higher rate of contact with these radiations than do the people who reside near nuclear power plants. This is because of the fact that the regulations at the nuclear power plants are strict and hence they minimize the release of radiations into the atmosphere (Hill 2010). The procedure of the mining of coal also carries many environmental affects. The mining which takes place on the surface as well as underground mines result in the contact of the rocks which are made up of sulphur to air and oxygen.

This results in the formation of sulphur dioxide. This acid further tends to worsen the effect by acting on the rocks and causing them to release metals. The acid plus the metals gain ways to the water reservoirs. This results in contaminating the water reservoirs and it harms the life that exists in water. It is found to be harmful not only for the microorganisms in the water but it also results in the death of fishes. These contaminated substances also tend to impact the land as well (Hill 2010; Mackenzie et al 2005).

The burning of coal can also result in many harmful effects on the health of the human beings. ‘Black Lung Disease’