It's estimated that 200 underground coal fires burn in 20 states, and thousands more burn around the globe. Just in the U.S. alone, an EPA assessment in 2002 put the amount of toxic mercury emitted in the air from these fires at 48 tons per year.
Just another very important story that goes under-reported, tucked in the back of the newspaper, or not reported on at all. And mind you, supposed "clean coal" won't put an end to these fires....
2 comments:
Sadly, there isn't much that anyone can do to extinguish an underground coal fire. Centralia PA is now abandoned because someone decided to burn trash in an abandoned mine shaft. The fire started in 1962 and has proved impossible to extinguish. These fires burn far underground and very hot - in the neighborhood of 1000 degrees F.
1000 degrees F is nothing. Just a mile under the earth's surface it's much hotter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMrxC-qEHb8
Al Gore
author of "An Inconvenient Marriage"
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