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Coal Mining Pollution Neglected by The Environmental Protection Agency

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20090713The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced earlier this week, that they will not take any action against coal mining pollution.

The reasoning for EPA’s  inactions is that the agency has “other priorities”. It is somehow difficult to comprehend how such agency, which is responsible for protecting the environment from deadly pollutants, harmful to human health, can simply neglect their legal obligations set by The Clean Air Act.

In addition to the unknown other priorities, the agency states that budget cuts do not allow them to focus on coal mining pollution.

Regardless of the numerous pleas and petitions submitted to the agency by many environmental groups, EPA refused to take any responsibility for protecting the society from pollution caused by coal mining.

But what are the possible consequences from such decision? Coal mines annually release more than 1,790 tons of volatile organic compounds, 17,000 tons of particulate matter and around 10% of all methane emissions in the U.S. alone. These are the main cause for smog formation, which lead to severe asthma attacks and respiratory and heart problems.

Let’s hope that EPA, the agency that should have protecting the environment and human health as its main priority, starts acting soon on pollution control, before it becomes too late.

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