oa Potential Water and Soil Contaminants from Coal Waste Dump Being at the Late Stage of Self-Heating (Rymer Cones, Poland)

Coal mining generates a great amount of wastes deposited in coal waste dumps, commonly adjacent to the mines. Its oxidation during storage in dumps often leads to self-heating or even self-ignition. This process produces large amounts of polar compounds that are relatively well water-soluble. They are leached by rainwater from permeable coal wastes, only loosely packed within a dump. The dissolving of better water-soluble compounds such as phenols, present in coal wastes, has led to their pre-concentration in leachates. Despite their relatively low stability, polar compounds were well preserved in pyrolysates formed during self-heating. Thus, even after self-heating ceasing, cold coal wastes surrounding overburnt zones can still be a source of water and soil contaminants. Phenols and aromatic acids can be considered as markers of coal waste contamination.