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Mining Affects on Appalachian Aquatic Life

What is mountaintop removal mining?

"Mountaintop mining is the dominant form of coal mining and the largest driver of land cover change in the central Appalachians. The waste rock from these surface mines is disposed of in the adjacent river valleys, leading to a burial of headwater streams and dramatic increases in salinity and trace metal concentrations immediately downstream." 

                                                              - Lindberg

Some of the Effects of Mountaintop Mining on Aquatic Life

Not only does mountaintop removal mining destroys habitats for natural aquatic life in the Appalachian region. But it also adds potentially toxic amounts of Selenium (Se) and other trace metals to the water. 

Credit: ILoveMountains.org/CC BY 2.0 (image cropped)

Deeper impacts

When aquatic life is effected in an area, it affects many other ecosystems in the area. Mining causes health issues for large amounts of aquatic life, but the mining companies are careless about where they dump their waste rock which contains toxic components. 

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