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ANTHRACITE COAL REFUSE AS A SOILLESS MEDIUM FOR GREENHOUSE FLOWER CROPS

Subject:

Pennsylvania Flower Growers #255

Abstract:

Anthracite mine refuse, or culm dump material as it is sometimes called, is the waste material resulting from the sizing and cleaning of run-of-mine deep and strip-mined anthracite coal. It may also contain mine rock, carbonaceous shale, pyrite, and other debris from mining operations. This material is generally stored in piles or banks, some of which are over 100 years old. Many of the older banks contain a consider able amount of good coal, particularly in the finer size ranges, since these sizes did not have any particular economic value in the early days of anthracite mining. Today, the refuse material from a cleaning operation must be piled in an orderly fashion and in such a way as to minimize the tendency to ignite. There are well over 400 of these banks in the anthracite region containing over 900 million tons of ref use located in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania. The banks range in size from a few thousand tons of material up to as much as 13 million tons. Most of these banks are unsightly eyesores which have a poor effect on the economic growth and industrial development of the area. In addition, although a great many of the banks are located on land which was of little value at the time the bank was formed, much of this land is of great value now, as indicated by the land values surrounding the banks. In fact, some of the land adjacent to several of these banks has been assessed as high as $38,000 per acre.

Keywords: culm dump material Coal refuse banks Roses and Carnation Least expensive African violets

Libraries: Floriculture

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