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How does removing the "overburden" during coal extraction affect the environment?

User Gean
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1 Answer

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Answer: Strip mining eliminates existing vegetation and alters the soil profile, or the natural soil layers.

Step-by-step explanation:

Mining disturbs and may even destroy the beneficial micro-organisms in the topsoil. Soil also may be damaged if reclamation operations mix the topsoil with subsoils, diluting matter in the surface soil.

User JakeSays
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