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fossil fuel disastersa briefing document |
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black lung disease | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
what is black lung disease? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
sickness and death from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
burning solid fuels at home | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
oil | storage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
transport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
pollution and asthma | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
discussionThe track record for fossil fuel production is far worse than that of other fuel production, in particular nuclear fuel. Fossil fuels are not clean or safe in their extraction, transport, storage and waste generation. This document lists some of the disasters that have occurred recently at various stages of creating fossil fuel-based energy. Fossil fuels are, of course, strongly implicated in global warming concerns. Also compare with much lower evidence of serious disasters linked to the nuclear generation industry. While not discussed in this document, keep in mind that the steadily dwindling of fossil fuel resources is also a driving factor behind inter-state friction and the vast costs of associated military actions.
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coalin the United States of America: serious accident in us coal mine - 2 miners missing [January 2006]
West Virginia explosion traps 13 coal miners [December 2005]
Two useful, short films showing something of the destruction in the Appalachians, and in West Virginia. in China:
China has many coal-mining accidents. Here another two of the larger ones:
The above linked article has details of more Chinese mining accidents. In China alone, ten to twenty thousand probably die directly in coal-mining each year.
Although only accidents in the USA and China are thus far listed, many other countries have coal-mining industries which are disaster centres. 65 trapped in Mexico [21.02.2006]
Note that explosions can also be caused by the very fine coal dust igniting/exploding.
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black lung diseaseData regarding the numbers of coal-workers suffering from this industrial disease are very hard to find, most countries preferring to keep quiet about their large mortality. China, for instance, only started releasing air pollution data in 1998. abelard.org has found fairly reasonable data for the USA, who are prepared to publish statistics. For most other countries, it has been a matter of gleaning bits of data from here and there. This section is primarily concerned with mining workers. However, that is a small proportion of those damaged by fossil fuel filth. Here is a claim we have found concerning the general population:
Black lung disease is the result of the lungs being coated with coal dust as miners work at the coal-face hacking out the coal, or elsewhere shifting the lumps of coal or mining waste.(When hit for any reason, coal easily disintegrates into tiny, insoluble particles of coal dust and other components such as silica.) Because coal-mining has been, and in some countries still is, a widespread industrial activity, there are large numbers of black lung disease sufferers. This disease is also called coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP). The name, black lung, comes from the distinctive blue-black marbling of the lung from the coal dust accumulation. This disease occurs mostly in those who mine hard coal (anthracite), but also occurs among those mining soft coals and graphite. After about ten to twenty years of exposure, symptoms to set in and it may be aggravated by silica (causing silicosis) mixed with the coal.
Black lung disease includes symptoms of pneumoconiosis, silicosis, asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. These symptoms are generally lumped under the label chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. sickness and death from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis Historically, black lung disease (or CWP) has caused many hundreds of thousands of deaths throughout the world. These deaths were to both the coal miners and to the general population. There was a generalised burning of coal for heating and for industry, which resulted in sometimes lethal “coal smogs” in larger towns. It is only since various clean air acts were passed that deaths in the general population have decreased in modern industrial countries. Industrial victims have reduced considerably since stricter working regulations have been introduced. However, despite the reduction in new industrial deaths, there is still a steady mortality from previous coal-miners, as black lung disease can take as long as fifteen to twenty years to kill. Doubtless, these diseases go back hundreds of years; there are reports concerning air pollution in south-east England in the 17th/18th centuries, relating to charcoal-burning, low visibility and the impossibility of putting clothes out to dry due to the filth in the air. I would there to be large effects in backward countries with open fires and poorly ventilated living spaces.
burning solid fuels at homeAccording to the World Health Organisation:
From Hazards of high-level radioactive waste — the great myth
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oil storageA fuel depot of twenty-two storage tanks blows up in crowded south-east England, provoking the largest oil fire in Europe during peacetime. [December 2005]
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oil transportthe prestige disaster - heavy fuel oil strewn at sea [November 2002]
This ecological and social disaster was documented extensively from its
beginnings by abelard.org. This is the original news item: abelard.org followed the pricipal events in this story over 18 or so months. The latest story was The Spanish Emperor has no clothes—facing up to reality. From this linked item, readers can move back through other related articles on that page and to other pages with earlier details, including photographs.
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oil pollution and asthmanew rules planned in the USA for off-road diesel emissions
thousands of deaths a year caused by diesel fuel
Note that “high numbers” is not a number. yet another fossil fuel industry disaster 11 - 10,000 dead in one city in one year
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email abelard at abelard.org © abelard, 2006, 25 january the address for this document ishttp://www.abelard.org/briefings/fossil_fuel_disasters.php 1750 words |
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