Trump officials order stop to study on health effects of mountaintop removal mining
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In 2016, the National Academy of Sciences announced that it was going to study the health effects of mountaintop removal mining. An expert team being appointed by the National Academy of Sciences will examine a “growing amount of academic research” thaTrump officials order stop to study on health effects of mountaintop removal mining
In 2016, the National Academy of Sciences announced that it was going to study the health effects of mountaintop removal mining. An expert team being appointed by the National Academy of Sciences will examine a “growing amount of academic research” that suggests “possible correlations” between increased public health risks for Appalachian residents and living near mountaintop removal coal mining, the Obama administration announced Wednesday. That study ended today, but not because the study had reached a conclusion. It ended because Donald Trump ordered it to stop. Trump administration officials have told the National Academy of Sciences to cease all work on a study of the public health risks for people living near mountaintop removal coal-mining sites in Appalachian, the academy said in a statement late this morning. Mountaintop removal mining is a uniquely destructive form of surface mining. In most areas, surface mines must follow “return to contour” rules, restoring landforms that existed before mining and taking special care with the structure of stream beds. But with MTR, mines permanently decapitate 300 million-year-old mountains, and waste material is disposed of by dumping it into streams and rivers. Hundreds of mountains have been destroyed forever, with 500 feet or more of material being removed and fouling thousands of miles of streams. The material that goes in streams leaves water acidic, and tainted with heavy metals. Families that live there show a higher incidence of cancer and birth defects. Earlier studies have indicated that the pollution can have significant health effects, but lawyers from coal companies have a different explanation. The study failed to account for consanquinity, one of the most prominent sources of birth defects. “Consanquinity” means kinship. What the coal companies are saying is that health problems are not their fault—because people in Appalachia are inbred hillbillies. Read more