Kentucky Coal Mining

Tracing the history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, it can be found its roots are
centered around mining coal. Its identity, culture, and economics are rooted in the black,
combustible black sedimentary rock, thats used worldwide for providing electricity. If it werent
for coal, Kentucky wouldnt have grown to the economic condition it is in now, able to attract
business thanks to low electricity rates, and being the nations third-largest producer of coal.
Even though coal has been successful for Kentucky, it has its down sides. Specifically, it has
created harsh living conditions in the eastern part of the state in regards to education, the
environment, and economic status of families directly employed by the coal industry. Its not the
power of coal that caused the issues, but missteps of regulation and government that has
impacted how far the coal industry, and the people of Kentucky, could grow.
Kentucky saw its first glimpse of coal in 1750, when it was founded by Dr. Thomas
Walker, according to Kentucky Coal Education. It was not until 1820, 70 years after coal was
discovered in Kentucky, that the first commercial coal mine called the McLean drift bank was
opened. The McLean mine was located in Muhlenberg County, in the western part of the state.
Kentucky coal then got its start in the eastern part of the state, where its mainly focused today, in
1880 when the first train from Williamson, West Virginia to Pike County, Kentucky was run to
transport mined coal more easily. In 1880 the state passed one million tons of coal in production,
and also saw its first set of regulation with the Mine Ventilation Law to bring safety standards to
a dangerous industry.
Coal isnt just for kids to be punished by Santa Clause on Christmas for being bad over
the past year. Eastern Kentucky coal mining far outweighs mining in the western part of the state.

According to the Kentucky Geological survey, the coal fields of eastern Kentucky produced
roughly 109 million tons of coal in 2001, and the western Kentucky coal fields produced 28
million tons. The eastern Kentucky coal fields saw its rise thanks to Pike County, which
produced 34 million tons of surface-mined coal, more than any other county in the state of
Kentucky. The Kentucky Geological Survey has found that Kentucky coal production has
increased immensely over the years, as in 1933 only one billion tons of coal had been mined in
the state, rising to two million in 1950, and eventually eight million in 2001.
Coal is mined through either underground or surface mining. Underground mining
include drift, slope, and shaft mining, and involve going into the earth through the side of a hill.
Surface mining includes mountain-top removal and the use of large-dragline shovels, takes from
the tops of mountains and hills to obtain the coal. According to the University of Kentucky, the
large amount of overburden that has been removed from the top of mountain are used to fill the
valleys next to the mine.
Coal is the official state mineral of Kentucky. According to the Environmental Protection
Agency, coal is a fossil fuel and is formed from the decomposition of organic materials that have
been subjected to geologic heat and pressure over millions of years. Its used as fuel - mainly for
electricity. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the coal is first extracted from
mines. and then is cleaned or washed to remove impurities. Its then transported to a power plant,
and then burned in a boiler to produce steam to run through a turbine to generate electricity. Coal
is a nonrenewable because it cant be regenerated in a humans life time, rather it takes millions
of years.

Even though machinery plays a key role in the coal mining process, human miners are
still needed to guide the process. The University of Kentucky offers a major in mining coal to
create leaders in the industry. However, there are thousands of residents in western and eastern
parts of the state who have grown up in the industry, and whose familys upbringings have been
entirely evolved around coal. According to Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, coal mining
today only accounts for 18,000 jobs, but the industry is believed to have an impact on more than
70,000 citizens in the state, due to its economic power through education and business. There
were 48,000 jobs directly related to mining in Kentucky 30 years ago,
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth say the coal mining industry employment
opportunities have been important to counties that rely heavily on their coal mines: They tend to
pay well and are often concentrated in counties with few other economic opportunities. Coal
mining in eastern Kentucky also provides an important source of revenue for local counties and
school systems, including funds generated through the coal severance tax and unmined minerals
tax. However, what is troubling is that counties in Kentucky that rely so much on coal mining
also show dyer economic conditions. Many eastern Kentucky counties with the highest
percentage of mining jobs and historically high levels of coal production are among the states
worst in terms of poverty and unemployment, the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
organization says.
Jonathan M. Roenker in an article written for the University of Kentucky also claims the
coal mining industry offers high paying jobs for people of the region, while at the same time
requiring them to have a low skill set. In the past, this has lead to many of these areas being
prosperous, with many towns and counties relying solely on the success of coal. However in

years where production has slowed, like the 21st century, due to either coal becoming harder to
find as coal mines run out or stricter regulations, the economic stability of certain parts of the
state have suffered too. When the counties earnings from coal take a loss, it has been found the
amount of reliance on food stamp programs and other social welfare programs has increased
immensely.
An argument could be made that some of these counties, including Harlin, Pike, Clay,
and Hazard counties, have relied to heavily on education for jobs aimed specifically at the coal
industry, and not other goods and service injuries. It has caused a snowball effect for education
problems. According to The Appalachian Region: A Data Overview From the 2006-2010
American Community Survey, only 23 percent of the population in Appalachia that worked had
a college bachelor degree, which is 7 percent below the national average. The report also makes
a correlation between poverty and education. In 25 of the 36 Appalachian counties with doubledigit unemployment, more than one in five working-age adults lacked a high school diploma,
the report says.
In the novel Night Comes to the Cumberlands, author Harry Caudill explains the
miserable lifestyle some people in Appalachia were forced to live with in the 1900s: One- and
two-room log cabins sheltered from a half-dozen to a score of children. Furthermore, children
were allowed to do much by themselves under few inhibitions and restrictions, along with
having to complete an abundant amount of work at a young age to support their family.
How the culture of these people are
Past effects on local economies who rely on coal, the coal mining industry has also called
environmental issues for the area. Surface mining has largely been credited with causing

environmental problems due to its destruction of the land to reach the desired coal. Barry
Bingham, writing for the Courier-Journal, wrote: Mountaintop removal mining is turning
Eastern Kentucky into a despicable latrine, cluttered with the offal of the industry. Rotting
vegetation, mud and rocks clog the streams and rivers.
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, University of West Virginia epidemiologist
Michael Hendryx found residents of an Eastern Kentucky coal county self-reported significantly
more cancer, heart disease, asthma and other illnesses than residents of two nearby counties
where there is no coal or mining. Furthermore, the coal is burned in a boiler at power plants to
achieve steam. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, fly ash, bottom ash and
boiler slag from coal-fired power plants contain small amounts of naturally occurring radioactive
material.
Coal politics
Caudill problems