- Coal slurry impoundment
A coal slurry impoundment consists of solid and liquid
waste and is aby-product of thecoal mining and preparation processes. It is a fine coalrefuse and water.Mining generates enormous amounts of solid waste in the form of rocks and dirt. This refuse is used to
dam the opening of a between adjacent mountains.After the dam is built, the void behind it is typically filled with millions of gallons of waste slurry from a
coal preparation plant . This impounded liquid waste can sometimes total billions of gallons in a single facility.High-profile
disasters associated with these slurry impoundments have called into question their safety. In 1972, a slurry impoundment outside ofLogan County, West Virginia burst, resulting in a rush of 130 million gallons oftoxic water (theBuffalo Creek Flood ). Out of a population of 5,000 people, 125 people were killed, 1,121 were injured, and over 4,000 were left homeless. The flood caused 50 million dollars in damages. Despite evidence of negligence, thePittston Company , which owned the compromised dam, called the event an "Act of God ." [cite web | title=Environmental Justice Case Study: Buffalo Creek Disaster | url=http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/Jones/buffalo.html#Problem | accessdate=October 10 | accessyear=2006 ] In 2002, a convert|900|ft|m|sing=on high, convert|2000|ft|m|sing=on long fill inLyburn, West Virginia burst, generating a large wave of sediment that destroyed several cars and houses. [cite web | title=Massey Valley Fill Disaster, Lyburn, WV | url=http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/mountaintop_removal/006/index.html | date=2002-07-19 | accessdate=April 3 | accessyear=2005 ]ee also
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Martin County sludge spill References
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