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Collin Eagles-Smith

Scientists with the US Geological Survey gather samples near coal train tracks in the Columbia Gorge near Washougal, Washington. Little research has been done on how coal interacts with the environment.

Scientists dig into booming coal exports and their effects on wetlands

October 15, 2014Environment

While the US is using less coal than we have in the past, we plan to export more coal to Asia. That means transporting it by trains, as we’ve done for decades. But there’s very little research on the effects coal has on the environment when it escapes from coal hoppers bumping along the rails.

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