Ecological Impacts of Mountaintop Removal > Appalachian Voices
Ecological Impacts of Mountaintop Removal. After the coal companies blast apart the mountaintops, they dump the rubble into neighboring valleys, where lie the headwaters of streams and rivers, like the Kanawha, Clinch, and Big Sandy. The exposed rock leaches heavy metals and other toxics that pose enormous health threats to the region's plants and animals — and people.