Mining 101: toxins released by mining ACTIVITIES Coal undisturbed is not the problem, 2guys.
Mining 101: Mining activities create the toxins such as blasting, drilling, transporting, hosing down to create "clean" coal, storing toxic water from washing, breaking down into smaller chunks that emit GHG and ultimately burning. Gravity and air currents take over from these activities to disburse the toxins. The smaller the surface area of the coal, the greater the toxic releases--as with grinding a coffee bean to extract more flavour.
These activities put environment, nearby communities and miner health at grave risk. No drilling, no risk of silicosis from the silica dust that is generated that can be contacted after a brief exposure.
Suggest you learn more about the costs of coal mining rather than continue to play dumb, which I doubt you are and to read the Bernstein report that predicts resurgence of coal is unlikely and therefore now is not the time to support coal mining expansion or CEC.
Another source to learn more about the toxic effects of mining activities are mining journals written by engineers and professionals. Many articles acknowledge air and water toxins from coal mining ACTIVITIES are the industry's biggest challenge and others address the ultimate failure of any mitigation measure due to lax or no enforcement, as in BC, human error, budget constraints as increasing profit and production are corporate values, not preventing toxins, miner, faulty preparation of ground and use of materials that don't last in tailing ponds, bankruptcy w/ abandonment of overseeing, and last but not least, NATURE--rain as in Pacific Northwest, and earthquakes such as the one measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale that rocked the Raven tenure in 2010 but is NOT mentioned in submissions to the environmental review process.