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Mountaintop coal mining linked to stress, anxiety in residents

There has been little research conducted on the mental health effects of mountaintop removal coal mining sites, but results from a study suggest that residents who live close to mining sites may be more susceptible to solastalgia, stress, eco-anxiety, eco-paralysis and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Researchers from Radford University in Virginia examined data from studies of health implications of mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) on residents in central Appalachia. According to their study, people living near an MTR site reported traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, insomnia, drug abuse and depression. Due to the environmental changes MTR entails, some also experience solastalgia, a "term coined to describe this place-based distress engendered by unwelcome environmental change." These people may also experience additional stress over the effects of mining on their health.

Lastly, symptoms of PTSD have been compared with reports from those who experience flooding and blasting associated with MTR.

"[T]he well-being of communities near MTR operations is seriously endangered," the researchers wrote. "In an area already plagued by socioeconomic inequalities, research on the extent of mental health and community problems is urgently needed to complement growing bodies of research on the health and environmental costs of MTR."

Preventing and improving the psychological costs associated with MTR among those living in central Appalachia deserves attention, they said.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.