Cent Eur J Public Health 2005, 13(3):153-158

Some Trace Elements in Coal of the Czech Republic, Environment and Health Protection Implications

Pešek J.1, Bencko V.2, Sýkorová I.3, Vašíček M.3, Michna O.3, Martínek K.1
1 Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Prague
2 Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Prague
3 Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics, Prague, Czech Republic

Mining for coal and its utilization have various impacts on the surrounding environment. Huge volumes of waste materials which are by-products of both the underground and open cast coal mining, pose one of the major environmental hazards in addition to air pollution caused by coal burning in power plants in the Czech Republic. Some of these risks could be reduced when having accurate and comprehensive data on coal quality. Statistical data processing of almost 35,000 coal samples from Late Paleozoic and Tertiary coal basins of the Czech Republic provided a unique information on the quality of lignite, sub-bituminous and bituminous coals and anthracites including the content of toxic trace elements (As, Be, Hg, Pb and Se). In this context related environment and health risks and protection implications are discussed.

Keywords: Czech coal, arsenic, beryllium, lead, mercury, selenium

Received: November 30, 2004; Revised: April 12, 2005; Accepted: April 12, 2005; Published: September 1, 2005  Show citation

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Pešek J, Bencko V, Sýkorová I, Vašíček M, Michna O, Martínek K. Some Trace Elements in Coal of the Czech Republic, Environment and Health Protection Implications. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2005;13(3):153-158. PubMed PMID: 16218333.
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