Impacts on environment
A serious concern of open pit mining is its environmental impacts. The method requires the mine area to be completely dewatered so that the hollow of the mine does not immerse in water. Not an easy task to do! Huge pumps need to be set up around the mine for dewatering activity. These pumps will suck out underground water round-the-clock during the entire lifetime of the mine. This has to be done to make sure the mine remains dry at all time. The impact on the already dry Barind Tract is seemingly obvious. Water level runs lower in Barind Tract during dry season and makes it difficult for the tubewells to draw water. When dewatering starts for the mining, one doubts if the shallow and deep tubewells would draw enough water in large area near and around the mine. What will then happen to the peasants of the region?
Asia Energy’s solution is to distribute the water pumped out among the farmers. It is an open question if the water distribution would be evenhanded. Given Bangladesh has no prior experience in this regard there are good reasons for fear. The government and non-government organizations have been trying many options including tree plantation for many years now to prevent desertification in the North Bengal. If dewatering in the mining area hastens the desertification process, pouring water above the ground remains a doubtful option.
Open pit mining means a havoc on the landscapes. The Asia Energy officials inform that the average thickness of coal’s layer in Phulbari is 38 meters. In order to reach the layer of the coal, overburden between 150 and 250 meters needs to the removed. After mining is complete in a particular block, there will be a thousand feet deep hollow. Once used up, the huge hollow will be filled with earth and a new area will be dug out. The area filled up does not become useful in many years. According to a high official in Asia Energy, the top soil will be removed and preserved once the mining operation begins in a particular block. The top soil will be brought back and spread on the top of the area filled in. But no one can say when the land becomes cultivable again. There is another question: will the company fill the hollow with the same care as it is done in the developed countries? As everybody knows, non-compliance of the existing laws is a common practice in Bangladesh. At the final stage of the mining operation, say in 30 years after the operation begins, Bangladesh will get a huge lake that according to the company will be filled up with fresh water providing a big source of water, fishery and recreation. Here we get a warning from the mine experts that the final hollow, after 30 years of digging and other activities, will contain toxic substances. It is not realistic to see this polluted lake becoming a source of fresh water so easily.
Handling the other forms of environment pollution is also a difficult challenge. There will be routine dynamite explosion inside the mine to break the rocks and the coal. Heavy machineries will be set up in and outside the mine. Heavy trucks (240-ton) and trains will carry the coal. Noise pollution from all these have consequences. Coal dusts will be a major source of air pollution. Will the enormous amount of polluted water generated from washing of the coal be properly treated? If the water is allowed to flow untreated and mix with the water-bodies around, it will kill fish and other forms of life. The earth through such deep digging and many types of pollution will lose all its micro-organisms. Air pollution from burning of coal to produce electricity is a big concern. Air polluting agents such as Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds (VOC), mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, etc. will contaminate earth, water, plants and animals. Getting rid of these pollutants is extremely difficult. Asia Energy expects to keep the pollution within a tolerable level. Many do not agree with the company. There are many who understand that the pollutants will create a hell in the mine area. There is fear that company will not adopt adequate measures to mitigate pollution because these involve lots of effort and cash.
Transportation of the coal is another big concern. In order for marketing, the coal will be carried to the deep seaport through the Sundarbans. New seaport and railroads will be built for this. This will create employment and bring revenue but will also bring fresh worries for the environment of the Sunderbans [the single largest mangrove patch on earth] in particular. The noise and water pollution created by the Mongla Port has already become a threat to the animals, plants and other life forms in the mangrove forest. The added transportation over the 30 years of the mine’s lifetime will increase threats to the Sundarbans manifolds. The environment and social impact assessment (EIA and SIA) of the Phulbari Coal Project has already been carried out and approved by the Department of Environment of Bangladesh government, informed the Asia Energy officials. Three hundred consultants of several international and national companies, some Bangladeshi environmental organizations and individuals have done the EIA and SIA. They have produced 2,600-page reports after 18 months of work. This is where many question if the EIA and SIA commissioned by the same company that will extract the coal have been impartial. Asia Energy claims it will do all that is needed to be done for the protection of environment and social harmony. |
