8. COAL: Mining's human toll outweighs economic benefits --WVU study (06/22/2009)

Appalachian coal mining costs communities five times more in early deaths as the industry offers in jobs, local taxes and other economic benefits, according to a study released in the July-August issue of Public Health Reports.

The report "Mortality in Appalachian Coal Mining Regions: The Value of Statistical Life Lost," coauthored by West Virginia University professor Michael Hendryx, casts doubt over whether coal is a net benefit to the state and other Appalachian communities. The report urges policy makers in the region to consider alternative strategies for economic growth and human well-being.

"Coal-mining economies are not strong economies," Hendryx said last week. "[Coalfield communities] are weaker than the rest of the state, weaker than the rest of the region, and weaker than the rest of the nation."

Coal generates $8 billion a year in economic support for Appalachia, but the cost of premature deaths attributable to mining is at least $42 billion, says the report, co-authored by Melissa Ahern of Washington State University.

"The reliance on coal mining in some areas of Appalachia constitutes a de facto economic policy: coal is mined because it is present and because there is a market for it," the study concludes. "However, other economic policies could be developed if reliance on this resource was not in the best interest of the local population."

Public Health Reports, where the study was published, is an official peer-reviewed journal of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Ken Ward Jr., Charleston [W.Va.] Gazette, June 20). -- PT