Mine Contaminate Concentrations in Southern West Virginia
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Keywords
Mining, Contaminates, West Virgina
Biography
Alex is a undergraduate student at Marshall University who is studying Geography with a concentration in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Major
Geography
Advisor for this project
Dr. Kozar
Abstract
The adaptation of surface mining in the southern West Virginia coal fields has resulted in an increase in pollution that results from the alkaline mine drainage being released from mining where the waste is deposited. The effects of contaminates being released into the local streams have a negative effect on the local macroinvertebrate population. When the water quality is low there is a decrease in biodiversity that results from multiple species being sensitive to the contaminates. This study was done to determine where the focus of contamination clean up and/or mine closures should occur within the southern coal fields of West Virginia. A Hot Spot Analysis use done to determine where there are clusters of the contaminates Manganese, Sulfate, Acidity and Aluminum from different water sample sites annually between the years of 2014 to 2019. While there is generally a shift from year to year for the hotspot clusters of all of these contaminates there is evidence that shows that the decontamination of the environment and potentially shutting down mines should be focused on central Kanawha, eastern Nicholas, central and southern Boone, and Greenbrier counties.
Mine Contaminate Concentrations in Southern West Virginia
The adaptation of surface mining in the southern West Virginia coal fields has resulted in an increase in pollution that results from the alkaline mine drainage being released from mining where the waste is deposited. The effects of contaminates being released into the local streams have a negative effect on the local macroinvertebrate population. When the water quality is low there is a decrease in biodiversity that results from multiple species being sensitive to the contaminates. This study was done to determine where the focus of contamination clean up and/or mine closures should occur within the southern coal fields of West Virginia. A Hot Spot Analysis use done to determine where there are clusters of the contaminates Manganese, Sulfate, Acidity and Aluminum from different water sample sites annually between the years of 2014 to 2019. While there is generally a shift from year to year for the hotspot clusters of all of these contaminates there is evidence that shows that the decontamination of the environment and potentially shutting down mines should be focused on central Kanawha, eastern Nicholas, central and southern Boone, and Greenbrier counties.
