Anthropogenic Effects of Coal Mining on Ecological Resources of the Central Indus Basin, Pakistan

Water is essential for life, agriculture, and industrialization; however, a rapid increase in population is constantly causing water scarcity and pollution in Pakistan. Mining activities produce the potential toxic element (PTE) accumulation, which lead to unnatural enrichment, ecological pollution, and environmental degradation. The ecological resources impeded by the PTEs cause serious abnormalities in the population through dermal contact, inhalation, and digestion. Mining induced anthropogenic activities are well-known causes of contamination of ecological resources. The produced effluents have drastic effects by changing the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the concerned resources. The Central Indus Basin is a well-known coal regime, where more than 160 mines are active at present. The samples that were collected from the mine water, groundwater, surface water, and the soil were analyzed by atomic absorption and elemental determination analysis (EDA) for an assessment of their quality and the presence of PTEs. The results were correlated with available quality standards, including the World Health Organization (WHO), National Standard of Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs). These analyses showed the noticeable anthropogenic concentration of PTEs, like iron, cadmium, sulphur, and copper, which can degrade the quality of resources in the Central Indus Basin and have adverse effects on human health. An excessive amount of acid mine drainage (AMD) draws attention to some suitable active or passive treatments for disposal from mines to avoid degradation of ecological resources in the Central Indus Basin of Pakistan.