Coal mine contaminants blown onto snowpack in Alberta, B.C.: study

Newly published research has found cancer-causing chemicals downwind from coal mines in southern British Columbia in concentrations that rival those next to oilsand mines. The research, conducted by the Alberta government and the University of Alberta, studied the snowpack around four coal mines in British Columbia's Elk Valley. It says clear traces of coal dust found in Alberta and B.C. matched the profile of coal from the mines in patterns that suggest the dust was carried by wind.Sign up for