Hazards of mining
Topic: Mineral Resources of India: Distribution and Conservation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 5 "Minerals and Energy Resources"
Meaning
Hazards of mining are the dangers that mining creates for miners and for the environment. Miners breathe in dust and toxic fumes, which cause lung diseases such as silicosis and pneumoconiosis. Roofs can collapse, and coal mines can flood or catch fire. Mining also pollutes water sources, and dumped waste and slurry (watery mine waste) damage land and soil and pollute streams and rivers.
Example
At Jharia in Jharkhand, underground coal fires have burned since about 1916, and there are plans to move the whole town. In Meghalaya, rat-hole mining (digging coal through narrow tunnels just wide enough for one person) was so unsafe that the NGT banned it in 2014.
Don't confuse with
- Occupational hazard: this covers dangers to workers only. Hazards of mining also include the damage done to land, water and nearby communities.