Coal waste impoundments : risks, responses, and alternatives / Committee on Coal Waste Impoundments, Committee on Earth Resources, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Coal Waste Impoundments.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Coal mines and mining--Waste disposal--United States.

Coal mines and mining.

Surface impoundments--United States.

Surface impoundments.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (242 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, c2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

On October 11, 2000, a breakthrough of Martin County Coal Corporation (TM)s coal waste impoundment released 250 million gallons of slurry in near Inez, Kentucky. The 72-acre surface impoundment for coal processing waste materials broke through into a nearby underground coal mine. Although the spill caused no loss of human life, environmental damage was significant, and local water supplies were disrupted. This incident prompted Congress to request the National Research Council to examine ways to reduce the potential for similar accidents in the future. This book covers the engineering practices and standards for coal waste impoundments and ways to evaluate, improve, and monitor them; the accuracy of mine maps and ways to improve surveying and mapping of mines; and alternative technologies for coal slurry disposal and utilization. The book contains advice for multiple audiences, including the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Office of Surface Mining, and other federal agencies; state and local policymakers and regulators; the coal industry and its consultants; and scientists and engineers.

Contents:

""COAL WASTE IMPOUNDMENTS""; ""Copyright""; ""Contents""; ""Executive Summary""; ""ENGINEERING STANDARDS, BARRIER STABILITY AND MONITORING""; ""SITE CHARACTERIZATION""; ""ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES""; ""ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS""; ""SUMMARY""; ""1 Introduction""; ""COAL PRODUCTION AND USE IN THE UNITED STATES""; ""ADVANCED COAL CLEANING""; ""COAL REFUSE IMPOUNDMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES""; ""DISPOSAL OF FINE REFUSE IN IMPOUNDMENTS""; ""FINES DISPOSAL PROBLEMS IN OTHER MINING SECTORS""; ""COAL WASTE IMPOUNDMENT FAILURES""; ""IMPOUNDMENT HAZARD RANKING SYSTEMS""; ""STUDY AND REPORT""

""2 Current Regulatory Framework""""FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT""; ""Requirements for Engineering Plans""; ""Review and Approval Process""; ""Inspection Requirements""; ""Reporting Obligations""; ""Observations""; ""SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION ACT""; ""Buffer Zone Rule""; ""Requirements for Engineering Plans""; ""Review and Approval Process""; ""Inspection and Reporting Requirements""; ""Observations""; ""OTHER FEDERAL LAWS AND STATE DELEGATE PROGRAMS RELEVANT TO REFUSE DISPOSAL PRACTICES""; ""Clean Air Act""; ""Clean Water Act""; ""Safe Drinking Water Act""

""Resource Conservation and Recovery Act""""Wildlife Protection Acts""; ""SUMMARY""; ""3 Planning Coal Slurry Refuse Impoundments""; ""GENERAL IMPOUNDMENT SITING CRITERIA""; ""Site Geology and Hydrogeology""; ""Subsidence""; ""Coal Barriers""; ""Geotechnical Characterization of Foundation and Construction Materials""; ""IMPOUNDMENT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION""; ""Embankment""; ""Basin""; ""SLURRY AND WATER MANAGEMENT""; ""IMPOUNDMENT SYSTEM MONITORING""; ""CLOSURE AND RECLAMATION""; ""SUMMARY""; ""4 Mine Mapping and Surveying""; ""SURFACE MAPS""; ""UNDERGROUND MINE MAPPING""

""National Archive for Mine Maps""""Storage Risks""; ""Mine Surveying""; ""Coordinate Systems""; ""Identification of Geology and Coal Seams""; ""SUMMARY""; ""5 Technologies for Locating Mine Workings""; ""DRILLING""; ""REMOTE SENSING""; ""GEOPHYSICAL METHODS""; ""Electrical Resistivity and Electromagnetic Methods""; ""Potential Field Methods""; ""Near-Surface Seismic Methods""; ""Ground-Penetrating Radar""; ""Nuclear Magnetic Resonance""; ""Radiometric Techniques""; ""Borehole Geophysical Methods""; ""Near-Surface Geophysical Research""; ""HYDRAULIC TESTING""; ""SUMMARY""

""6 Limiting Potential Failures""""EMBANKMENT FAILURE MODES""; ""Structural Stability""; ""Seepage and Piping""; ""Overtopping""; ""BASIN FAILURE MODES""; ""Subsidence""; ""Mine Openings""; ""MITIGATIVE MEASURES""; ""IMPOUNDMENT MANAGEMENT""; ""RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT""; ""MONITORING""; ""EMERGENCY PLANNING AND RISK COMMUNICATION""; ""7 Alternatives for Future Coal Waste Disposal""; ""REDUCING OR ELIMINATING SLURRY GENERATION""; ""DIRECT UTILIZATION OF SLURRY""; ""Conventional Pulverized Coal-Fired Boilers""; ""Alternative Combustion and Gasification Technologies""

""Fluidized-Bed Coal Combustion""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-185).

ISBN:

9786610184125

9780309170338

0309170338

9781280184123

1280184124

9780309565851

0309565855

OCLC:

923269361