Evaluating environmental quality in Rujigou coalfield, China, using analytic hierarchy process

Coal is the major fossil fuel used for power generation. Coal mining activities lead to environmental changes to a large extent, such as degradation in the quality of air, water, and soil, changes in landform, land use/land cover, and vegetation distribution. Evaluating the environmental quality is therefore essential to study the nature and impact of mining activities on the environment. The present study attempts to use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to assess the environmental quality of Rujigou coalfield that lacked previous such analysis. The criteria used for evaluation were selected through a literature review and extensive field survey. A photo tour of the study area shows the current ground conditions. Weights were assigned to these criteria based on expert opinions, recommendations from published literature, and field investigation. The results indicate that mining activities in the study region most significantly impact the air quality, followed by soil, water, landform, and vegetation. The knowledge of environmental quality can forewarn policymakers and mine managers about impending environmental problems and improve their ability to manage and resolve them. Moreover, the systematic methodological process described in this research can be applied to any study area with similar features to the one investigated in this paper.