A cryptocurrency mining company in Pennsylvania, US, plans to burn tires to mine Bitcoin, infuriating neighbors and alarming environmental groups. Stronghold Digital Mining claims to be reusing waste resources. Opponents of the initiative are concerned about the damage posed by emissions to human health. Since 2021, the company has been mining cryptocurrency by burning coal waste for inexpensive power. It purchased the Panther Creek power plant in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, that same year. The use of coal waste to mine bitcoin is a contentious method. Although coal waste disposal can assist contaminated soil. The combustion process produces dangerous greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
When utilized to generate energy, the method of generating electricity from coal waste can require twice the quantity of trash as conventional coal. According to the company, it occasionally needs to burn tire-driven fuel to make coal burning more efficient. According to Stronghold spokesperson Naomi Harrington, additives such as tire gasoline are “especially needed when the quality of the coal refuse is low in energy content.” The enterprise is subsidized by the state to burn waste coal. It also has a provisional permit to test the use of tire-driven fuel. However, it is apparently attempting to obtain permanent approval for tire-driven fuel.
“This sort of disposal of tires is a last resort”
“I was shocked,” said Carol Etheridge, a resident living near the Panther Creek plant. “It’s terrible. I can’t even believe that people would be allowed to burn tires.” She was quoted by The Guardian. Tire-burning plans have attracted criticism from environmental groups. “It poses risks to the health of people living nearby,” said Charles McPhedran, an attorney with Earthjustice Earthjustice is fighting the company’s tire application. “This sort of disposal of tires is a last resort,” he said as quoted by The Guardian.
When tires are burned, hazardous substances such as dioxins and furans are produced. Cancer has been linked to several substances. Additionally, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which are carcinogenic, have been linked to tire combustion. “They are clearly looking to reduce their fuel costs,” said Rob Altenburg of the local environmental group PennFuture. “There is no analysis for how this will add to the existing burden of legacy pollution in the area.” The Guardian reported about him. Furthermore, the facility is within two miles of communities designated by the state as environmental justice areas. Residents in Carbon County have expressed their worries in letters to the county commissioner and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).