Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Contaminates Snowpack across a Broad Region

Abstract

Mountaintop removal coal mining is a source of downstream pollution. Here, we show that mountaintop removal coal mining also pollutes ecosystems downwind. We sampled regional snowpack near the end of winter along a transect of sites located 3–60 km downwind of coal mining in the Elk River valley of British Columbia, Canada. Vast quantities of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), a toxic class of organic contaminants, are emitted and transported atmospherically far from emission sources. Summed PAC (ΣPAC) snowpack concentrations ranged from 29–94,866 ng/L. Snowpack ΣPAC loads, which account for variable snowpack depth, ranged from <10 μg/m² at sites >50 km southeast of the mines to >1000 μg/m² at sites in the Elk River valley near mining operations, with one site >15,000 μg/m². Outside of the Elk River valley, snowpack ΣPAC loads exhibited a clear spatial pattern decreasing away from the mines. The compositional fingerprint of this PAC pollution matches closely with Elk River valley coal. Beyond our study region, modeling results suggest a depositional footprint extending across western Canada and the northwestern United States. These findings carry important implications for receiving ecosystems and for communities located close to mountaintop removal coal mines exposed to air pollution elevated in PACs.

Snowpack samples from across the southern Canadian Rockies reveal widespread polycyclic aromatic compound pollution sourced from mountaintop removal coal mining.