Applied Coal Petrology

Chapter 10. Environmental and Health Impacts

10.1. Introduction

Concerns about the impacts of coal on the environment and human health are not new; they may date from its first use as a fuel in China about 3,000 years ago. In the 13^th century the concern about the “sulfurous air” in London attracted the attention of the British royalty who issued proclamations banning the use of coal in the city. Until industrialization, the amounts of coal being used were minuscule and the environmental and health problems were local. However, during the past 150 years, increasingly large amounts of coal have been required to satisfy the ever-growing demand for global energy. World coal production exceeded 6 billion tons in 2004 (U.S. Energy Information Agency, ...