Environment polluted by blasting process

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Fri, May 09 2008

— The hills are alive with the sound of blasting after the timber contractor cuts the top of the mountain off.
It only takes a few workers to tamp the blasting powder into the ground — move away to a safe area — and then set off the powder to blow the top of a mountain off. Once that blast goes off; dirt and debris spew hundreds of feet into the air and eventually drifts back down to the earth. The debris is so full of chemicals, it kills any vegetation it lands on. Then the big machines go to work, pushing all the debris into the valleys below until they reach the coal seam.
What was once a majestic mountain, full of timber, flowers and wildlife, is now a flat, brown mining site. The people in the valleys are left to contend with the chemical dust, polluted streams, medical problems, and the fear of landslides if the land is not reclaimed because there are no trees left to hold back the earth.
If this is ended, the pollution to our entire environment will also be ended. Just for a little less manual labor, they would rather smother our environment with all of the chemicals to blast off the top of a mountain to reach coal somewhat easier. I think this should be changed.
Adrienne Ross
Lerona