Coal utilization in China: environmental impacts and human health

Coal is one of the major energy resources in China, accounting for approximately 70 % of primary energy consumption. Many environmental problems and human health risks arise during coal exploitation, utilization, and waste disposal, especially in the remote mountainous areas of western China (e.g.,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental geochemistry and health 2014-08, Vol.36 (4), p.735-753
Main Authors: Chen, Jian, Liu, Guijian, Kang, Yu, Wu, Bin, Sun, Ruoyu, Zhou, Chuncai, Wu, Dun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Arsenic
Arsenic - toxicity
Arsenic Poisoning - etiology
briquettes
China
Chinese people
clay
Coal
Coal - analysis
Coal mining
Earth and Environmental Science
Energy consumption
Energy sources
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Environmental Health
Environmental impact
Fluorine - toxicity
fluorosis
Fluorosis, Dental - etiology
Geochemistry
Health risks
human health
Humans
Mercury
Mercury - toxicity
Mountain regions
Original Paper
primary energy
provenance
Public Health
risk
Risk factors
selenium
Selenium - toxicity
soil
Soil Pollutants - analysis
Soil Science & Conservation
Terrestrial Pollution
Trace elements
Waste disposal
Water Pollution
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Summary:Coal is one of the major energy resources in China, accounting for approximately 70 % of primary energy consumption. Many environmental problems and human health risks arise during coal exploitation, utilization, and waste disposal, especially in the remote mountainous areas of western China (e.g., eastern Yunnan, western Guizhou and Hubei, and southern Shaanxi). In this paper, we report a thorough review of the environmental and human health impacts related to coal utilization in China. The abundance of the toxic trace elements such as F, As, Se, and Hg in Chinese coals is summarized. The environmental problems (i.e., water, soil, and air pollution) that are related to coal utilization are outlined. The provenance, distributions, typical symptoms, sources, and possible pathways of endemic fluorosis, arsenism, and selenosis due to improper coal usage (briquettes mixed with high-F clay, mineralized As-rich coal, and Se-rich stone coal) are discussed in detail. In 2010, 14.8, 1.9 million, and 16,000 Chinese people suffered from dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, and arsenism, respectively. Finally, several suggestions are proposed for the prevention and treatment for endemic problems caused by coal utilization.
ISSN:0269-4042
1573-2983
DOI:10.1007/s10653-013-9592-1