Potential environmental impact due to mining and use of coal in areas around Mui basin in Kenya

Abstract

The Kenyan population is growing at an alarming rate which have led to increase in demand for resources such as energy, food, medical care, infrastructure and many more. Most of the problems or factors hindering Kenya from achieving the needs of its citizen is majorly energy. Adequate and reliable energy is targeted to bring about the industrialization, stabilize the fluctuating prices of commodities due to energy related reasons. Therefore, the government through the MoE has been in the search for alternative source of energy other than the already operating. Many exploration has been done in such of coal in Mui basin. The discovery of coal in Mui basin is so important in the realization of vision 2030 since it is an addition to the current power supply which is not sufficient for industrial and domestic uses as demanded. Despite the high expectation from coal, it should be considered that it could bring many of challenges to environment management due to its impact on environment and hydrogeology during mining and when being used. The environmental pollution control are also among the goals being aimed at in vision 2030 by provision of clean,affordable,reliable and adequate energy,hence drawing attention on pollution on both environment and water resources as result of coal mining and it`s use on environment. Following the reasons above, the research therefore seeks to assess the geology and geological structures so as to determine their potential to transmit coal related pollutants in the mining zone and the potential impact of the waste released on the surface which contain some radioactive elements and rare earth metals. The areas vulnerable were determined and is especially to the South of study area, the reason being due to the thick sediments and presence of clay and silt all of which acts as the reservoir to the pollutants. Other factors facilitating transmitting the pollutants include geology,geological structures and topography. The project recommend the use of clean coal technology in order to reduce the emission of poisonous material that pollute the environment.