ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION
The mining of coal and metal ores in the United States is associated with a variety of environmental problems including scarred land and particulate air pollution from strip-mine operations, underground mine subsidence, tailings and overburden accumulation, and acid mine drainage (Down and Stocks, 1977). The latter two items are of prime interest to the microbial ecologist. Water pollution by acid mine drainage (AMD) is an extremely severe problem in areas of the country where mining activity is high and the amount of land covered by mine spoils of various types is extensive. In both of these cases, the effect of the pollution on the microbes may be severe. At the same time, the recovery of the polluted ecosystem relies on the activities of the microbial community.
