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The mining and burning of coal: effects on health and the environment
Author(s) -
Castleden William M,
Shearman David,
Crisp George,
Finch Philip
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/mja11.10169
Subject(s) - coal , coal mining , waste management , human health , environmental science , climate change , tailings , pollutant , natural resource economics , environmental protection , mining engineering , environmental health , engineering , geology , medicine , economics , chemistry , oceanography , organic chemistry
Australia's coal conundrum is that all political parties say they are concerned about climate change while sanctioning an unprecedented expansion of coalmining and coal seam gas extraction in Australia. Australia's coal contributes to climate change and its global health impacts. Each phase of coal's lifecycle (mining, disposal of contaminated water and tailings, transportation, washing, combustion, and disposing of postcombustion wastes) produces pollutants that affect human health. Communities in which coalmining or burning occurs have been shown to suffer significant health impacts. The health and climate costs of coal are unseen, and when costs to health systems are included, coal is an expensive fuel.