West Virginia. Appalachia. Since the coal industry began their harvest in West Virginia in the late 18th century, it has had unfettered access to the state's famous low-sulfur coal with virtually no limitations on their power. The coal industry remains the sole economic force of the state, reaping billions in profits every year, while residents of West Virginia remain among the poorest of the nation. In the coalfields, the imbalance is amplified: while Boone county produces the most coal in the state, 20% of its residents languish below the poverty line. Meanwhile, Massey Energy Company, the largest coal producer in Appalachia, grossed 1.78 billion dollars in revenue on produced coal sales of 42.3 million tons in 2005. West Virginia is the top coal producer in the Appalachian region, second in the nation. From 1978 to 2000, coal extraction efficiency in West Virginia increased more than eight times, corresponding with the introduction of Mountaintop Removal (MTR) coal mining. Today, coal production is soaring, using machine-powered MTR; however, coal miner employment is at its lowest ever, with less than 12,000 in West Virginia. The trend towards the mass mechanization of coal production -- where one giant earth-moving machine replaces 100 men -- will soon render the traditional underground miner useless. Thousands of Appalachian communities endure the blasting, coal dust, ruined water and environmental destruction caused by MTR - they are living in what some call, the "Energy Sacrifice Zone."

Toxic Waste Dumps: Coal Slurry in Unlined Earthen Pits

West Virginia. Appalachia.

Since the coal industry began their harvest in West Virginia in the late 18th century, it has had unfettered access to the state's famous low-sulfur coal with virtually no limitations on their power. The coal industry remains the sole economic force of the state, reaping billions in profits every year, while residents of West Virginia remain among the poorest of the nation. In the coalfields, the imbalance is amplified: while Boone county produces the most coal in the state, 20% of its residents languish below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, Massey Energy Company, the largest coal producer in Appalachia, grossed 1.78 billion dollars in revenue on produced coal sales of 42.3 million tons in 2005.

West Virginia is the top coal producer in the Appalachian region, second in the nation. From 1978 to 2000, coal extraction efficiency in West Virginia increased more than eight times, corresponding with the introduction of Mountaintop Removal (MTR) coal mining.

Today, coal production is soaring, using machine-powered MTR; however, coal miner employment is at its lowest ever, with less than 12,000 in West Virginia. The trend towards the mass mechanization of coal production -- where one giant earth-moving machine replaces 100 men -- will soon render the traditional underground miner useless. Thousands of Appalachian communities endure the blasting, coal dust, ruined water and environmental destruction caused by MTR - they are living in what some call, the "Energy Sacrifice Zone."

MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL / VALLEY FILL COAL MINING

systematically destroying the drinking water source of the southeastern United States

Coal slurry is the waste by-product of the chemical process of cleaning coal before it is sent to market and burned. Coal slurry contains heavy metals and chemical residue that ends up poisoning drinking water sources.

Coal companies inject this toxic coal waste underground, into abandoned mine works, where the liquid waste seeps through cracks in the rock strata.

In the Forgotten Communities of Route 49, over 700 residents have signed on to a class action lawsuit suing the Massey Energy-owned Goals Coal Processing for rendering this community’s drinking water poisonous and causing irreparable sickness and death.

Coal slurry dump in the mountains of West Virginia, January, 2006.

Kenneth Stroud, of Rawl, WV, turns on his bathtub faucet. Stroud has become severely ill due to consuming his well water that has been damaged by 20 years of underground slurry injection. JANUARY, 2006