According to the Science Fair, a study has found that mountaintop coal mining raises birth defects. Children born in mountaintop-mining communities may suffer elevated risks of birth defects. Nationwide, about 1 in 33 babies suffer a birth defects, which is also the leading cause of infant deaths. An upcoming Environmental Research journal study reports that children born in counties home to mountaintop coal mining had a 26% higher risk of suffering one of those birth defects, compared to non-mining communities.
A number of studies has found health risks associated with coal mining regions, said the lead researcher. Mountaintop mining, where coal seams are exposed by blasting off the top of elevations, has been linked to air and water pollution. The study covered West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, where mountaintop mining occurs. Over the course of the study, mountaintop removal mining produced 882 million tons of coal from those four states.
The study looked at 1,889,071 births in those states from 1996 to 2003 and the researchers first found birth defects higher in six of seven categories. Rates of any birth defect anomaly were approximately 235 per 10,000 live births versus 144 per 10,000 live births in the non-mining communities.
Contact Cappolino, Dodds & Krebbs LLP – Birth injury lawyer if you have questions about birth injuries or defects.
