Community Involvement Key to Safe, Reclaimable Coal Mines: Industry Scientists

A conveyor belt transports coal at the Westmoreland Coal Company's Sheerness Mine near Hanna, Alta., on Dec. 13, 2016. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Coal mines can be environmentally safe and can become useful, enjoyable landscapes when the seam runs out, say scientists working with industry.

But they admit that there are risks and costs, and urge communities and miners to work together from the start to understand and minimize them.