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Fish Remain High in Selenium Long after Mountaintop Coal Mines Close.

Colin A Cooke1,2, Jennifer A Graydon1, Andreas Luek3

  • 1Environment and Protected Areas, Government of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 5C6, Canada.

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|April 14, 2026
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Summary

Mountaintop removal coal mining releases selenium, harming fish long after mine closure. Even decades later, fish in Crowsnest Lake show dangerously high selenium levels from the closed Tent Mountain Coal Mine.

Keywords:
AlbertaRocky mountainsfishpollutionsedimentseleniumtroutwater

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Ecotoxicology
  • Aquatic Ecology

Background:

  • Mountaintop removal coal mining produces waste rock that releases selenium.
  • Selenium bioaccumulation in fish can harm or extirpate downstream communities.
  • Long-term selenium impacts from closed coal mines are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the long-term effects of mountaintop removal coal mining on selenium levels in fish populations.
  • To assess if selenium contamination persists decades after mine closure and reclamation.

Main Methods:

  • Collected fish tissue samples from Crowsnest Lake, downstream of the closed Tent Mountain Coal Mine.
  • Measured selenium concentrations in fish tissues and compared them to established guidelines.
  • Compared selenium levels in fish from Crowsnest Lake to those from 29 reference lakes without coal mining in their watersheds.

Main Results:

  • Fish in Crowsnest Lake exhibited high selenium concentrations (5-26 μg/g dry weight), exceeding safe guidelines.
  • These selenium levels are among the highest documented in scientific literature.
  • Reference lakes showed significantly lower selenium concentrations in fish (0.2-2.5 μg/g dry weight).

Conclusions:

  • Mountaintop removal coal mines pose a persistent threat to downstream fish populations, even decades after operations cease.
  • Selenium contamination from historical coal mining can remain a significant ecological risk long after mine closure and reclamation.
  • Continued coal mine development could further jeopardize the sustainability of fisheries like the one in Crowsnest Lake.