Environmental effects of coal mine closures in the Lower Silesian Coal Basin, Poland

The study addressed the problem of hard coal mine closures in the Wabrzych coal mining area and its effects on the natural environment and landscape functioning.Coal mining resulted in the degradation of the natural environment and losses on fixed assets caused by the surface subsidence.The purpose of the study was to identify the aspects of the restructuring process of the Wabrzych hard coal mines concerning the state of the natural environment and landscape, evaluated from a multi-decade perspective.The study also examined environmental changes and the directions of post-mining land use.In the period of performing mining operations coal mines, the coking plants and heat distribution plants in Wabrzych and Nowa Ruda emitted 69.90% of particulate matter and 51.12% of gases produced by all plants in the Wabrzych voivodship.The volume of industrial waste, harmful to the environment presented a large decrease regarding the amount of onerous waste in the period 1988-2018.The state of the natural environment improved significantly as a result of coal mine closures.It was found that the ambient air pollution was mostly caused by the industrial and heat distribution plants.Further development of post-mining areas should, by all means, be continued and the good condition of the already reclaimed areas should be maintained.In the areas located near residential developments it is essential to continue searching for alternative uses of these waste heaps.