"Study Links Mountaintop Removal Dust To Cancer"

"A new West Virginia University study has found that dust from mountaintop removal coal-mining operations promotes the growth of lung cancer tumors.

The study results 'provide new evidence for the carcinogenic potential' of mountaintop removal dust emissions and 'support further risk assessment and implementation of exposure control' for that dust, according to the paper, published online Tuesday by the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

'A growing body of evidence links living in proximity to [mountaintop removal] activities to greater risk of serious health consequences, including significantly higher reports of cancer,' the study said. 'Our finding strengthens previous epidemiological studies linking [mountaintop removal] to increased incidence of lung cancer, and supports adoption of prevention strategies and exposure control.'"

Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette October 16, 2014.