Degradation of Soil Quality Parameters Due to Coal Mining Operations in Jharia Coalfield, Jharkhand, India

Authors

  • Arvind Kumar Rai Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India.
  • Biswajit Paul Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India.

Keywords:

Coal, Open-cast mines, Electrical conductivity, Organic carbon, Available nitrogen

Abstract

Coal mining for an area is an economic activity but may lead to degradation of soil quality. Open-cast coal mining operations involved displacement of a large amount of overburden/rock mass materials to excavate the coal for many purposes. In mining areas, the soils are affected by various coal mining operations i.e. blasting, drilling, storage of overburden dump materials, clearing of land, construction of ancillary facilities and movement of vehicles. Various wastes such as heavy metals, inorganic substances, toxic materials and organic substances are released from different process of coal mining operations. The study was conducted during 2009 in six sampling locations of the Jharia coalfield, Dhanbad, Jharkhand state. The study revealed that significant variation in physicochemical parameters of soil due to coal mining operations. The information obtained from this paper helps in knowing about the quality of soil status in Jharia coalfield, Jharkhand state. This paper will focus on the characterization of soil and will discuss the significance of these parameters with an emphasis on N, P, and K.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Dhar, B. & Rolterdem, B. (1993). Environmental management and pollution control in mining industry. APH, New Delhi, India.

Singh, J.S. & Jha, A.K. (1993). Restoration of degraded land: an overview. In: Singh, J.S. (Ed.), Restoration of degraded land: concepts and strategies. Rastogi Publications, Meerut, India, pp. 1-9.

Dulka, J.J. & Risby, T.H. (1976). Ultratrace metals in some environmental and biological systems. Anal. Chem., 48(8): 640A–653A. https://doi.org/10.1021/ac50002a001.

Wali, M.K. (1975). The problem of land reclamation viewed in a systems context. In: Wali, M.K. (ed.), Practices and Problems of Land Reclamation in Western North America. The University of North Dakota Press, Grand Forks, pp. 1–17.

Raju, E.V.R. (2008). Post mining land use planning for Jharia coalfield, Jharkhand, Eastern India. Ph.D. Thesis, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India.

Fox, C.S. (1930). The Jharia Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, vol. 56, Calcutta, India.

Nelson, D.W. & Sommers, L.E. (1982). Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. In: Page, A.L., Miller, R.H. & Keeney, D.R. (eds), Methods of soil analysis. Number 9 (Part 2), Chemical and microbiological properties. 2nd ed. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp. 539–579.

Keeney, D.R. & Bremner, J.M. (1966). A chemical index of soil nitrogen availability. Nature, 211: 892–893. https://doi.org/10.1038/211892a0.

Bray, R.H. & Kurtz, L.T. (1945). Determination of total, organic, and available forms of phosphorus in soils. Soil Sci., 59(1): 39–46. https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-194501000-00006.

Brady, N.C. & Weil, R.R. (2002). The Nature and properties of soils. 13th ed., Pearson Education Inc., New Delhi, India.

Maiti, S.K. (2003). HandBook of Methods In Environmental Studies: Vol 2 (Air, noise, soil and overburden analysis). ABD Publishers, Jaipur, India.

Biswas, T.D. & Mukherjee, S.K. (1994). Textbook of soil science. 2nd ed., Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, India.

Ghosh, A.B., Bajaj, J.C., Hassan, R. & Singh, D. (1983). Soil and water testing methods - A laboratory manual. 1st Ed., IARI, New Delhi, India, pp. 11-17.

Tripathy, D.P., Singh, G. & Panigrahi D.C. (1998). Assessment of soil quality in the Jharia coalfield. Proceedings of the Seventh National Symposium on Environment, ISM, Dhanbad, p. 205.

Saxena, M.M. (1987). Environmental analysis: water, soil and air. Agro Botanical Publishers, India.

Saxena, N.C., Singh, G., Pathak, P., Sarkar, B.C. & Pal, A.K. (2005). Mining Environment Management Manual. Scientific Publishers, India.

Downloads

Abstract views: 20 / PDF downloads: 6

Published

2011-04-01

How to Cite

Rai, A. K., & Paul, B. (2011). Degradation of Soil Quality Parameters Due to Coal Mining Operations in Jharia Coalfield, Jharkhand, India. Advances in BioScience, 2(2), 51–56. Retrieved from https://journals.sospublication.co.in/ab/article/view/35

Issue

Section

Articles