The
Sierra Club, along with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and the Ohio Valley
Environmental Coalition, are suing to have the approvals for mountaintop
removal mines in Kentucky and West Virginia reversed
The
groups contend that the Army Corps of Engineers did not consider the
detrimental effects the mining would have on the health of the local residents.
By law health concerns are part of the permitting process.
There
is growing evidence that there is nothing healthy about living near a
mountaintop mine. Health investigations have found learning disabilities,
kidney stones, tooth loss, diarrhea, rash, and some forms of cancer in
individuals living close to Mountaintop mines.[i]
Mountaintop removal has also been associated with birth defects of the circulatory,
respiratory, central nervous musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, and urogenital
systems.[ii]
And people who live around this destructive mining practice also experience
extreme psychological stress.[iii]
Considering
that the people of Appalachia are our fellow Americans, how much of a stretch
is it to think that they should be safeguarded by the same laws that keep the
rest of us safe and healthy?
[i] Holzman, David C. “Mountaintop Removal
Mining.” Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 119, Issue 11 November 1, 2011 electronic journal
[ii] Ahearn, Melissa M. et at. “The association
between mountaintop mining and birth defects among live births in central
Appalachia, 1996–2003.” Environmental Research Vol. 111 Issue 6. Aug 2011, p 838-846
electronic journal
[iii] Paige Cordial, Ruth Riding-Malon, and Hilary
Lips. Ecopsychology. Vol.4,
Issue 3, September 2012, 201-208. electronic journal
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