Scientists warn against mountaintop mining

January 08, 2010|Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Mountaintop coal mining - in which peaks are blasted off and stream valleys buried under tons of rubble - is so destructive that the government should stop giving out new permits to do it, a group of scientists said in a paper released yesterday.

The group, headed by a University of Maryland researcher, did one of the most comprehensive studies to date of the controversial practice, also known as “mountaintop removal.’’

Afterward, they did something that scientists usually don’t: step beyond data-gathering to take a political stand.

“Until somebody can show that the water [that runs off mine sites] can be cleaned up . . . this has got to be stopped,’’ said Margaret Palmer, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science who is the study’s lead author.

For now, Palmer said, “there is no evidence that things like this can be fixed.’’

Scientists found that environmental damage extends far beyond the boundaries of the mine.