dirty coal - clean & green future?, page-6

b_patterson,

i thought i would paste that article because one thing must be mentioned:

Media release from Drew Hutton
Flood waters creating massive pollution from mine sites across Queensland
Here is the media release put out by Drew Hutton in response to the flooded mines in Queensland ? see stories: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201012/s3103274.htm http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/mines-caught-up-in-polluted-water-fear/story-fn6ck45n-1225977494069.
Mines will be releasing huge amounts of heavy metals into the flood waters and much of this will pile up behind weirs in catchments like the Fitzroy and be a pollution problem for many years. Pollutants include dangerous levels of copper, uranium, zinc, aluminium, lead, arsenic, cobalt and nickel.
Even more worrying, flooding of coal seam gas areas is undoubtedly over-topping holding ponds containing large amounts of salty water. Once this salt hits the high clay content black soil plains of the Darling Downs it is likely to destroy the ability of these fields to produce again since salt on soil containing more than 30 per cent clay renders such soil unproductive.
Friends of the Earth spokesperson Drew Hutton said this was the third year in a row that major flooding had caused serious pollution events. In 2008 the Ensham coal mine in central Queensland was flooded and heavy metals were released into the Fitzroy catchment. In 2009 the Lady Annie copper mine in north Queensland released large amounts of heavy metals when its tailings dam was breached.
These events were possibly the biggest pollution events in the state?s history.
?The mining industry?s claim that dilution solves all these problems is fanciful,? Mr Hutton said.
?The dilution effect will offer some diminution of the damage but the heavy metals released from mines will lodge behind any obstructions in the river system and stay in the sediments, ready to be mobilised and the salt from coal seam gas operations will ruin good farmland.
?It is illegal for mining companies to cause such high levels of pollution but all the State government can do is approve these releases and hope for the best.?

I appreciate the fact that these groups help bring some accountability, and that CSG are scrutinised, but i can't help noticing how people like Drew Hutton tend to be extremist and send very biased messages out to the community. People like Mr Hutton also need to be held accountable for how they present their cause. For instance he happily leaves out (and on other occasions also) information such as the following,

"Agriculture
It's common for farmers to use fertilizers and other chemicals on their crops to help them grow. However, these chemicals and nutrients added to the soil can soak into the underground water supplies. Additionally, when it rains, these chemicals join the run-off water and flow into streams, rivers and lakes, thus polluting them. Even just the sediments of dirt, without any chemicals, are pollutants in the fact that they cause the waterways to become cloudy and muddy.
Homes
Households are a leading cause of water pollution by the trash they create. Even if taken to landfills, often this trash finds its way to natural waterways. Human waste, disposed of typically by sewers, pollute water. Any time a septic system is not installed properly or bursts beneath the ground, the underground water supply may be polluted. Oils and anti-freeze leaked from vehicles pollute water."

http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Effects_of_Water_Pollution