The health and environmental impact of coal mining in Chhattisgarh

In spite of the fact that coal mining for coal-fired power generation is one the most hazardous and damaging industries such that governments of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom have pledged to phase out coal over the next decades, India, China, the United States and Russia continue to rely heavily on coal for the generation of electricity. India is one of the world’s major coal producers, ranking third after China and the United States. Several national and international studies have established that the process of coal extraction, particularly opencast mining, and electrical generation by coal-fired power plants release a range of gaseous and solid chemicals and heavy metals into the atmosphere as a by-product of this process. Every step in the generation of electricity by coal-fired thermal power plants – the mining of coal, transportation, washing and preparation at the power plant, combustion and the disposal of post-combustion wastes carry serious risks on the health of miners, plant workers and residents in the vicinity of mines and power plants. Existing power plants in India, with few exceptions, are highly polluting- particularly as standards are only set for Particulate Matter (PM) rather than for all related pollutants including Sulphur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen oxides (NOx) or heavy metals such as mercury. The PM standards are also lax. This research therefore crucially investigates the nature and impact of pollutants in air, soil, stream sediment and water on communities living close to opencast mines and coal-fired power plants in Chhattisgarh.