Coal slurry impoundment

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A coal slurry impoundment consists of solid and liquid waste and is a by-product of the coal mining and preparation processes.

Mining generates enormous amounts of solid waste in the form of rocks and dirt. This refuse is used to dam the opening of a hollow between adjacent mountains.

After the dam is built, the void behind it is typically filled with millions of gallons of waste slurry from a coal preparation plant. This impounded liquid waste can sometimes total billions of gallons in a single facility.

High-profile disasters associated with these slurry impoundments have called into question their safety. In 1972, a slurry impoundment outside of Logan County, West Virginia burst (see Buffalo Creek Flood); resulting in a rush of 130 million gallons of toxic water. Out of a population of 5,000 people, 125 people were killed, 1,121 were injured, and over 4,000 were left homeless. The flood caused 50 million dollars in damages. Despite evidence of negligence, the Pittston Company, which owned the compromised dam, called the event an "Act of God."[1] In 2002, a 900-foot high, 2,000-foot long fill in Lyburn, West Virginia burst, generating a large wave of sediment that destroyed several cars and houses.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Environmental Justice Case Study: Buffalo Creek Disaster. Retrieved on October 10, 2006.
  2. ^ Massey Valley Fill Disaster, Lyburn, WV (2002-07-19). Retrieved on April 3, 2005.
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